Iran's president has hinted that the White House is to blame for the billions of dollars that have gone missing in Iraqi oil revenues. "Several months ago, we heard that an enormous amount of over 100-million barrels of Iraqi crude have gone unaccounted for since the US-led invasion of the country," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday.
The New York Times quoted a draft government report as saying in 2007 that "between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels a day of Iraq's declared oil production over the past four years is unaccounted for and could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling." Considering the four-year period, a total of 100-million barrels of unaccounted crude oil is a conservative estimate.
President Ahmadinejad also questioned the real motives behind the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq in 2003. According to the Iranian president, Washington has adopted a policy of exploiting the resources of other nations to extricate Americans from the various problems caused by US politicians.
Following the US-led invasion of Iraq, Washington secured UN approval to take financial control of Iraqi government affairs; US President George W. Bush vowed to spend Iraq's money wisely. However, a series of reports have revealed that the United States has mishandled billions of dollars in Iraqi oil funds. "There was a pervasive leakage in assets of Iraq, and to some extent, those assets were squandered," said Frank Willis, a former senior US official in Iraq, in February 2005.
Former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan expounded on the issue in September 2007 to confirm that oil was the prime motive behind the Iraq invasion. "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows; the Iraq war is largely about oil," Greenspan said.
While White House echelons claim that Iraq's oil wealth has had no place in their 'War on Terror' campaign, Republican presidential candidate John McCain admitted in a May statement that 'American reliance on foreign oil was the prime motive for invading Iraq'. "I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will - that will then prevent us - that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East," said the 72-year-old Arizona senator.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
McCain too huh? Putting him in the White House will be no victory for Republicans. Only a lesser evil.
#4
Oh yeah, 300,000 barrels a day -- we must have stolen that to satisfy our 20 million barrel a day habit. That's 1.5%. Heck, the Democrats aren't even willing to drill at home for that much.
300,000 bbl/day x $100/bbl x 365 days/yr = $11 billion/year
I think we just found the source of that Iraqi "surplus".
"While White House echelons claim that Iraq's oil wealth has had no place in their 'War on Terror' campaign, Republican presidential candidate John McCain admitted in a May statement that 'American reliance on foreign oil was the prime motive for invading Iraq'."
What is it about Democrats that they can't understand the difference between plundering Iraqi oil and protecting a steady "bought and paid for" flow of oil through the Persian Gulf? Did we fight the Gulf War to take Kuwait's oil? No. Are we buying most of the accounted-for Iraqi oil? No. They are so irrational that we can't risk having a Democrat in the White House. That's just one reason why Sarah Palin is more qualified to be President than any Democrat.
The Islamic Arab Council in Lebanon launched an anti-Hezbollah satellite channel aimed at underscoring that Lebanon's Shiites are Arabs and delinking the connection often made with Iran.
The station, called Orouba --or Arabism -- is part of a group of developmental projects announced at the commemoration of the council's second anniversary and will likely counter the official Hezbollah station al-Manar.
The council seeks to at unify the Muslim nation and rejects any external influences as part of a comprehensive political project that encourages more involvement in Lebanese politics.
Arab rather than Iran
The goals of the council, established by Sayyed Mohamed Ali al-Husseini, differs from those of Hezbollah, which favors strong links between the Shiites of Lebanon and Iran rather than the Arab world.
"The Lebanese reject any kind of guardianship from outside. The Lebanese are part of this nation and they pledge allegiance to Lebanon, and not any other outsider," Husseini said.
The launch of the new station came as part of a three-day celebration that ended Friday and included politicians and diplomats from different sects.
"The council transcended sectarianism to nationalism," said council spokesperson Talal Awada. "We believe that the Arab nation is the core of religion and all other nations owe it a lot."
Sheikh Ali Barakat, a memberof the Council's cultural division, said he rejected any "perverted" influences on the youth and announced the release of books written by Sayyed Husseini about the common ground between Sunnis and Shiites.
The speech given by Fada al-Hajj on behalf of the political division stressed that the council adheres to moderation and discards any sectarian tendencies.
Orouba is the latest in a string of satellite television stations that have started in the past two years as each sect and political party strives to influence public opinion.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/16/2008 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
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The Islamic Arab Council in Lebanon launched an anti-Hezbollah satellite channel aimed at underscoring that Lebanon's Shiites are Arabs and delinking the connection often made with Iran.
