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View Full Version : WAR for Oil: Brits haggle BP's cut memos revel



revelarts
04-20-2011, 06:37 AM
Pure Imperialism, a case could be made.

W. Lead the Invasion into Iraq In March 2003.

In Sep Nov 2002 before all U.N. resolutions and determinations were made

British Gov't officials were lobbying Washington officials for a piece of the Iraqi oil pie for BP. Newly revealed memos show.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/secret-memos-expose-link-between-oil-firms-and-invasion-of-iraq-2269610.html
Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq

...The papers show that Lady Symons agreed to lobby the Bush administration on BP's behalf because the oil giant feared it was being "locked out" of deals that Washington was quietly striking with US, French and Russian governments and their energy firms.

Minutes of a meeting with BP, Shell and BG (formerly British Gas) on 31 October 2002 read: "Baroness Symons agreed that it would be difficult to justify British companies losing out in Iraq in that way if the UK had itself been a conspicuous supporter of the US government throughout the crisis."

The minister then promised to "report back to the companies before Christmas" on her lobbying efforts.

The Foreign Office invited BP in on 6 November 2002 to talk about opportunities in Iraq "post regime change". Its minutes state: "Iraq is the big oil prospect. BP is desperate to get in there and anxious that political deals should not deny them the opportunity."

After another meeting, this one in October 2002, the Foreign Office's Middle East director at the time, Edward Chaplin, noted: "Shell and BP could not afford not to have a stake in [Iraq] for the sake of their long-term future... We were determined to get a fair slice of the action for UK companies in a post-Saddam Iraq."

Whereas BP was insisting in public that it had "no strategic interest" in Iraq, in private it told the Foreign Office that Iraq was "more important than anything we've seen for a long time".

BP was concerned that if Washington allowed TotalFinaElf's existing contact with Saddam Hussein to stand after the invasion it would make the French conglomerate the world's leading oil company. BP told the Government it was willing to take "big risks" to get a share of the Iraqi reserves, the second largest in the world.

Over 1,000 documents were obtained under Freedom of Information over five years by the oil campaigner Greg Muttitt. They reveal that at least five meetings were held between civil servants, ministers and BP and Shell in late 2002.

The 20-year contracts signed in the wake of the invasion were the largest in the history of the oil industry. They covered half of Iraq's reserves – 60 billion barrels of oil, bought up by companies such as BP and CNPC (China National Petroleum Company), whose joint consortium alone stands to make £403m ($658m) profit per year from the Rumaila field in southern Iraq. ....

the timing puts the lie to the U.N. dancing going on then.
Congress gave Bush the go to use force in October 2002, seems that's when all the talk in Britain started.
War was an accomplished fact; a thing already done at that point it seems.
And it looks like there were already deals the US was making prior to that. Before (?!) the congress gave the go ahead there where Oil deals in the works.

Before Blixs Final report
Before Powells Speech to the U.N.

War was a done deal. Oil a strategic target.
the big Oil companies Jockeying into position to get their shares using the connections they had and what ever influence they could muster to get their cuts. the free market at work in the Oil Biz. Puts another face on Frances "principled" opposition to the war as well.

revelarts
04-28-2011, 11:10 PM
Crickets here?