Why We Went To War In Iraq

It only took three and a half years, but finally the real reason we went to war in Iraq is becoming more clear. O-I-L. Black Gold. What a shock. According to this story -- which you're only going to see in the foreign press -- multinational companies including BP, Exxon, and Shell are about to receive 30-year contracts to extract crude oil from Iraq and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972. This will not only allow these companies to gain a foothold in the Iraqi oil industry for the first time in 35 years, but it will also allow them to take 75% of the profits in the early years. Iraq is certainly in no position to negotiate a better deal right now, and it will take the 25% because it desperately needs money to rebuild. Of course, this is all on top of the billions Halliburton and Kellogg Brown and Root will ultimately earn as a result of this war.

So, let's sum this up. Step 1: Cut economic deals with elites in target country. Step 2: When elites become recalcitrant or too difficult to deal with (Saddam), undermine them so they are overthrown. Step 3: If elites prove too strong to overthrow, take them out, either through sanctions, or failing that, invasion and/or assassination. Step 4: Cut sweetheart deals with new, weaker leaders in target country to "rebuild" target country using American or multinational companies with substantial American ties. Step 5: Gain access to natural resources and economic investments in target country you did not have before. Step 6: Protect access to assets with military bases in target country.

There is no other word for this -- it's blatant colonialism. And it's only going to fuel a main Al Qaeda argument that attracts a lot of following among Muslims: the U.S. is not after "democracy" in the Middle East. It's after oil. All of this is playing out according to the script described in Confessions of an Economic Hitman, which every American should read to understand why our soldiers are being sent to places like Iraq. This has been done before, in Panama, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, and countless other countries, and it will be done over and over again, unless Americans wake up to what is going on and demand changes in how the U.S. acts outside its borders.


These new 30-year billion dollar contracts for Shell, Exxon, and BP are about as big a "hit" on a country as you can get.