Poll: Iraqis Prefer Not to Let Foreign Companies Steal Their Oil

[babylonsister]

Poll: Iraqis Prefer Not to Let Foreign Companies Steal Their Oil
Submitted by davidswanson on Mon, 2007-08-06 14:03. Media

Iraqis oppose oil development plans, poll finds
Further setback for US / UK as Iraqis reject oil privatisation
http://priceofoil.org


Iraqis oppose plans to open the country’s oilfields to foreign investment by a factor of two to one, according to a poll released today. Iraqis are united in this view: there are no ethnic, sectarian or geographical groups that prefer foreign companies.

The poll also finds that most Iraqis feel kept in the dark about the oil plans – with fewer than a quarter feeling adequately informed about a proposed new law to govern Iraq’s oil sector.

This poll is the first time ordinary Iraqis have been asked their views on the contents of the oil law, which has been debated by Iraqi political parties for over a year. The US government is pressing Baghdad to pass the oil law by September, as one of their “benchmarks”. <1>

At the centre of the oil law is a proposal to give multinational oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon the primary role in developing Iraq’s oilfields, under contracts of up to 30 years.

Yet 63% of poll respondents said they would prefer Iraq’s oil to be developed and produced by Iraqi public sector companies rather than foreign companies, with 32% of those indicating a strong preference. Only 10% strongly preferred foreign companies, and 21% moderately.

more...

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/25467

[slipslidingaway]

1. K&R n/t

[EFerrari]

2. K&R

[slipslidingaway]

3. Kick "Iraqi Oil Law Stalls Over the Summer"

http://priceofoil.org/2007/08/03/iraqi-oil-law-stalls-over-the-summer/

"The Guardian reports that the “real reason why the Bush administration wanted the oil law rushed through was that it feared public discussion, and was worried that the more people understood what the law entails, the greater the chances of its defeat. Key parties in the Iraqi parliament oppose it, including the main Sunni party - which this week withdrew from government - as well as the Shia Sadrists and Fadhila.”

[Disturbed]

4. I guess Busholini will have to overthrow this ungreatful Iraqi Govt.

He liberated them from Saddam but now they don't want to give up their Oil rights. This is not acceptable.

[slipslidingaway]

12. Could be and too many of the Dems gave into this benchmark

as well. :(

[MountainLaurel]

5. Well, now

Wasn't the point of the invasions (1990 and current-day) and occupation to keep Iraqis from being able to make that decision?

[kenny blankenship]

6. They have no right to carry on complaining like that!

Iraq imposes 'Saddam style' ban on oil union

Iraq's energy ministry is using a Saddam-era decree to crack down on trade unions and stifle dissent against foreign exploitation of the country's vast oil reserves, the Basra-based oil workers' union claims.

Hassan Juma'a, the union's leader, has been at the forefront of a public campaign against the signing of a controversial new oil law - demanded by Washington - that would lead to long-term profit-sharing contracts being signed with multinational oil giants.

But Hussein Shahrastani, Iraq's oil minister, has now issued a directive banning unions from participating in any official discussions about the new law, 'since these unions have no legal status to work within the state sector'.

Juma'a said the minister's approach echoed an infamous law passed by Saddam Hussein in 1987 - the so-called 'Article 150' - suppressing trades unions. He insisted this weekend that his members would not recognise the directive, saying 'we are working for Iraq'

[slipslidingaway]

13. Thanks for this update, wonder how the union will react to the

news.

http://www.icem.org/en/24-North-Africa-Middle-East-/2289-Iraqi-Oil-Workers-Declare-‘Tactical-Victory’-in-Southern-Strike

"On 11 June, leaders of the IFOU met with Iraq’s Minister of State for Parliament Affairs, who directly represented Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Pledges that al-Maliki made to the union in mid-May were put into effect, including establishing a committee to deal with oil workers’ grievances. Those grievances, numbering 16, include salaries, work conditions, health and safety concerns, and a demand for consultation over the future of Iraq’s oil industry."

[scarletwoman]

7. k & r - c'mon folks, let's get this on the "greatest" page. Do people understand what's going on?

Any "progressive" worthy of the name ought to be outraged by what this "oil law" actually entails!

sw

[Cha]

8. Yeah, we're kept in the dark

too but some of us wore buttons on Feb 15, 2003, when we protesting in NYC, that said "NO BLOOD FOR OIL!"

Recommended~

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

9. Dennis Kucinich is the only Congressional member that I know who's made this as

public as he can.

[babylonsister]

10. Yes, he knows the score and doesn't mind talking about it.

Crickets from everyone else.

[AntiFascist]

11. Who'da thunk?

I wonder if some of the Iraqis are attacking US soldiers for this reason also? Could this be democracy in action? The Iraqi version of the American Revolution perhaps?

[KAT119]

14. k&R n/t

[welshTerrier2]

15. Olbermann should make the candidates address this !!!

no more wiggly wobbly answers ...

"A new poll of the Iraqi people indicated that, by a considerable majority, the Iraqi people are opposed to the Oil Law that would privatize their primary national resource. The US government, including the Congress, has been pressuring the Iraqi Parliament to pass the Oil Law that would give away hundreds of billions of dollars of Iraqi oil to ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Shell. Do you believe this provision should be kept in the Oil Law or should it be removed?"

Those who remain silent about the Oil Law and fail to clearly take a position are complicit in the theft of Iraqi oil.

k&r ...

[slipslidingaway]

16. "Those who remain silent about the Oil Law and fail to clearly

take a position are complicit in the theft of Iraqi oil."

Agree completely with your statement.