Reply #10: No discussion of Bush oil/energy/geopolitical strategy would be complete [View All]

[Nothing Without Hope]

without mentioning Greg Palast's important March 17 article, "SECRET U.S. PLANS FOR IRAQ'S OIL." The fight between Powell's camp and Cheney's/Rumsfeld's/Wolfowitz's camp becomes much easier to understand, as does the continued total slavishness to Big Oil, whatever that may mean in terms of wars, environmental damage, and economic degradation.

http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=417&row=0

SECRET U.S. PLANS FOR IRAQ'S OIL

BBC News World Edition
Thursday, March 17, 2005
By Greg Palast
Reporting for BBC Newsnight (London)

The Bush administration made plans for war and for Iraq's oil before the 9/11 attacks sparking a policy battle between neo-cons and Big Oil, BBC's Newsnight has revealed.

Two years ago today - when President George Bush announced US, British and Allied forces would begin to bomb Baghdad - protestors claimed the US had a secret plan for Iraq's oil once Saddam had been conquered.

In fact there were two conflicting plans, setting off a hidden policy war between neo-conservatives at the Pentagon, on one side, versus a combination of "Big Oil" executives and US State Department "pragmatists."

"Big Oil" appears to have won. The latest plan, obtained by Newsnight from the US State Department was, we learned, drafted with the help of American oil industry consultants.

(snip – more of this long article, clips, and other links at the web site)