Is the Iraq War About Oil After All?

In spite of rhetoric about trying to foster a sovereign Iraq, it seems that the Bush administration wants to maintain control over Iraq indefinitely. Seemingly, against the will of the Iraqi people, the Bush administration is said to be forcing a long-term occupation agreement on Iraq, threatening to withhold billions of dollars unless such an agreement is reached by July 31. The agreement would clearly undermine Iraqi sovereignty. The U.S.: wants its troops and contractors to be immune from Iraqi law, free to commit crimes with inpugnity; wants to control Iraqi airspace; wants to have dozens of permanent U.S. bases in Iraq indefinitely; refuses to specify a withdrawal plan; and wants the freedom to deploy military operations at any time without the permission of the Iraqi government. This is the furthest thing from Iraqi sovereignty.

Two officials of the Iraqi government appeared before Congress recently indicating their opposition to this agreement and begging for help from Congress to keep the Bush administration from forcing this upon them. They say that Iraqis want a timetable for total withdrawal and that, perhaps 70% to 90% of Iraqis want U.S. occupation to end.

Why, then, in spite of an Iraqi plea to set a timetable for withdrawal, does the Bush administration ignore those pleas. One theory comes from Brian Hicks. He claims that the Bush administration needs the permanent presence of our military to insure that American oil companies have access to the oil at a cost of billions per year. See his article at: Energy & Capital.
For more: NYTimes and LATimes and Middle East correspondent Patrick Cockburn discuss the situation.
Part 1--Iraqi Oil Law



Video Length 6 min 48 sec
Part 2--Iraqi Oil Law



Video Length 9 min 20 sec

Is the U.S. Funding the Taliban?

The U.S. has given Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf billions of dollars to fight Al-Quida and the Tailban. But Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid explains that: much of that money has gone to arm and finance the Taliban; how the CIA pays Pakistan to arrest al-Qaeda operatives, but Pakistan uses the money to fund the Taliban resurgence in northwest Pakistan; and how the U.S. and NATO’s failure to deal with Afghan civil society has led directly to the huge rise of the opium trade that funds the Taliban.
For more see: Killing Ourselves and Return of the Taliban



Video Length 6 min 20 sec