Saturday, August 2, 2008

Kucinich Seeks To Bar US Oil Firms From Iraq

It's a pity this man is not still in the running for president, but maybe he can do more good staying a Representative. Without giving away everything from the rawstory.com article, here are some clips from the story regarding the bold measure that would bar US oil companies from receiving contracts in Iraq, being proposed by Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich:

"The invasion of Iraq was about oil, but it didn’t result in more oil
or cheaper gas," Kucinich said on the House Floor. "It resulted in war
profiteering by oil companies who benefited by keeping Iraqi oil off
the market."

The Ohio Democrat, who believes exploiting Iraq's massive oil reserves was the primary reason we invaded, introduced a measure he says aims to keep Iraq's oil wealth within the country. “Iraq needs oil revenue now more than ever as they try to rebuild their country...”

Kucinich noted Congress recently required Iraq to match US investments
in the country's reconstruction, and he implied that Iraq's ability to
contribute to its reconstruction was damaged because of its reliance on
oil revenues.


I know some naysayers will undoubtedly point out that many non-US oil companies (several London based are mentioned in the article) will still have the opportunity to take advantage of Iraq's oil wealth. I say, that different. For one thing it wouldn't likely be no-bid contracts if it were coming from any other countries. Those counties governments & military are not currently occupying Iraq. And we can always pressure other governments to play by the same ground rules we are. As much as we need more oil that isn't controlled by the Middle East, that oil in Iraq belongs to Iraqis, not us.


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