Posted on 10/27/2006 6:43:57 AM PDT by jveritas
Thank you JAN.
Thanks for the ping and all the hard work.
Yes, America rightly and correctly refused to engage in a colonialistic "guarantee" of the oil contracts France had with Saddam; when such contracts must (at that time) become subject to a future Iraqi government, not America.
France helped perpetuate the myth - in the geopolitical media - that America "went to war for oil" when it was France who would have gone to war with the U.S. if the U.S. bought that cooperation with oil, Iraqi oil that the U.S. had, and even no excercizes no rights to make "guarantees" about.
No, we are glad to have not indulged in the colonialistic gamesmanship of the French in their lust for Iraq's oil, and their willingness to dispose of the trans-Atlantic alliance because we refused that indulgence.
It demonstrated the "my way or the highway" self-centeredness of the standard French foreign policy. It also demonstrated that France seldom has any true multinational partnership interest, unless there is some commercial benefit in it for France.
And for that stance, America went into Iraq without a UN mandate, with a substantial alliance arrayed against her.
And such allies as she did manage to cobble together, mostly inefficient 3rd Worlders, have left. In Europe, the governments that supported the American effort have been voted out of office and replaced.
The Americans did incredible damage to their own war effort by being greedy about Iraqi oil. For let us be clear: the Iraqi government is a puppet state, and will necessary remain so, and the Americans are going to call the show with that state in terms of oil concessions.
The US had to decide what was most important.
They decided, at the outset of the war.
Now the domestic political support for the war is falling apart even within the United States, and the Americans have no plan for either victory nor exit from Iraq.
The Republicans will probably not lose the 2006 elections, but they have no idea how to win the war in Iraq, and without any such idea, the war will simply continue. 2008 will be a replay of 2006, except with thousands more US casualties. And at that point American political will to continue in Iraq will collapse, the Democrats will sweep to power, and the American position in Iraq will collapse in the same humiliation that the US position in Vietnam did.
The so-called "principled" stance on Iraqi oil will not have accomplished anything other than to hand it all over to radicals.
It would have been better to make a deal with Paris and have world support. It would have made it far harder for the terrorists to find traction or allies.
"The Americans did incredible damage to their own war effort by being greedy about Iraqi oil. For let us be clear: the Iraqi government is a puppet state, and will necessary remain so, and the Americans are going to call the show with that state in terms of oil concessions."
Myths generated by France's own greed for that oil.
There is zero evidence that the Iraqi oil ministry has, or has any plans, to make any preferntial concessions to any U.S. oil company. In addition, no American oil company is owned by or has any political control excercized over it by the American government - unlike TotalFina.
The U.S. decided, post 9/11, that the end of Saddam's tyranny, the end of questions about his weapons programs, the end of his assistance to terrorists were, all three more important than securing oil concessions for France.
The American plan for Iraq continues; to support the establishment of democratic government in Iraq and to help that government become stable and obtain domestic security, as long as that help is needed.
Paris is burning and its lack of support over Iraq is the reason. The domestic mujahadeen realized that they could push the "Muslim" button on Chirac and he would stay out of Iraq. Having learned how weak the French government is in the face of Muslim pressure, they will now increase that pressure and expand the burning of all of France until the current "Republic" goes the way of every previous French republic - mort.
UNSCR 1441 was a mandate. That France was too interested in protecting their oil deals with Saddam was the problem. France was also knee deep in the oil-for-food program thereby allowing Saddam to amass $$$ billions for when France got the UN Sanctions lifted for Saddam.
America stood firm and put some meat on the bones of UNSCR 1441. France should be ashamed of itself for allowing that genocidal butcher to prosper at the expense of 26 million innocent Iraqis. You have no shame. You have no pride. You have lost your way in the civilized world! And you will be calling on America, once again!
"The Americans were greedy and refused to guarantee this, and so France did not play ball."
According to your statement above, France was blackmailing the US.
True.
The Americans were greedy and refused to guarantee this, and so France did not play ball.
Quite the opposite, France was the greedy party.
The only reason Saddam was giving France a huge discount on Iraqi oil was to buy the French UN veto to stymie the United States.
France happily sold herself to Saddam and proceeded to throw her oldest ally overboard for a little dirty oil money. Now that Saddam can no longer pay, France has thrown Saddam, her newest ally, overboard as well.
Losing France as an ally is good riddance to bad trash.
Another great find, thanks!!
Without even knowing the precise extent of the French response and collaboration on these intel issues, the mere fact that Saddam's regime felt so cozy with Paris that they could make such requests shows yet again how depraved and contemptible Jacques Iraq Chirac and everyone like him truly is. France was in bed with Iraq in so many ways, from corrupt "oil-for-food" scams to obstruction of UN and IAEA efforts, lame as those were.
Chirac and everyone like him among the Euro-twits are WHORES for the mass-murdering Saddam, period.
Please, Chirac and his kind are whores who betrayed the values that ALL Europeans and Americans should agree upon and defend. You can't put lipstick on this pig, no matter how hard you try (well, you can apply the lipstick but Chirac and Dominique are still pigs).
We can debate the wisdom of taking out Saddam's regime, but to pretend that the French position in the months and years leading up to March 2003 was anything but the most loathsome, corrupt whoredom is futile. Saddam paid the French well to be his whores in the UN, etc. and they worked hard on his behalf.
As for the USA, we are not even being minutely compensated for the enormous expense and effort of liberating Iraq from Saddam. Anyway, the US government had no right to make such corrupt promises to the government of France about Iraqi oil contracts. That's how Saddam and the whores of Paris operated, but I have yet to see any indication that the US is controlling all future Iraqi oil production - in fact, it was just announced that the PRC has revived it deal for development of an Iraqi oil field, so it does not appear that such activities are being limited to US companies.
"I have yet to see any indication that the US is controlling all future Iraqi oil production"
Indeed!
As we saw today with the Iraqi Prime Minister ordering American forces to cease blockading hostile militias who may be holding an American soldier captive, and with the American forces quietly obeying, packing up and leaving the area (and probably leaving their comrade-in-arms to death, probably by torture), it would indeed appear that the Americans are not controlling much of anything in Iraq.
Not the oil.
Not the security situation.
Not the government the US installed.
Nothing much at all.
But Americans sure are dying very bravely, and being maimed, in order to continue to control nothing.
If there is no desire to impose control upon Iraq, what have you got?
There's also another document which suggests that France promised Sadaam that France would keep the U.S. tied up in the U.N., and thus be unable to attack, that was well before the final negotiations.
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