Posted on 11/23/2006 7:46:12 AM PST by noah
The conflict in Iraq is primarily over, or greatly exacerbated by the high stakes of the oil wealth. Democracy is not enough. If the wealth is "owned" by the government it's Socilism and the competition will be military, because that's the most effective type in this situation. If we give away all the oil wealth to Iraqi individuals there will be little left to fight over; it will empower the people; propel a private based economic growth and change the competition from military to economic and the economy from socialism to free enterprize. So the key word is PRIVATISE.
Nancy Pelosi is right. Iraq is a problem to be solved, not a war to be won. Conflict has been a part of the human condition since a little after the dawn of mankind. It has most often occurred over the control and ownership of economic resources and the problem in Iraq is no different. The problem is to channel the competition into helpful not hurtful ways.
Why is there conflict there today? Many factions want to control the Iraqi government because it owns the vast concentrated wealth of the Iraqi oilfields. Just what have we done in Iraq? We have replaced one tyrant dictator, who owned and controlled all of Iraq’s wealth, with a weaker elected oligarchy which still owns and controls the wealth of Iraq – one Socialist government with another. And we were critical of the citizens who in that brief hiatus between socialist governments tried to grab back a little piece of their country’s wealth for themselves.
How did we get into this situation of defending a Socialist state against its citizens and how do we get out? Under Socialism, which still prevails in Iraq, the only way the country can be peaceful is if all groups who are competing militarily for power (and that’s the most cost efficient type of competition available now), are suppressed and repressed, while the oligarchy enjoys the fruits of the labors of love and sacrifice given by American and other soldiers who dislodged Saddam. Is that what we want to accomplish and leave as our legacy?
What is the solution? Replace the Socialist state with Free Enterprise. How can this be accomplished? Through Privatization and Decentralization of the economic wealth of the country. Incentives matter. The economic "marbles" of oil are all in the "bag" of the government, and for no good reason and to no good effect. This just increases the incentives for military competition to capture this "bag." To create the incentives for economic rather than military competition the ownership and control needs to be given back to the people of Iraq from whom they were stolen. This will draw all citizens together to combat factionalism.
How can this be accomplished? A business holding company should be formed to own and control all the oil resources of the country. All individual Iraqi citizens – Shiites, Kurds, Sunnis, Christians and all others – should register with the Dept. of Citizenship before June 30, 2007. All non-felon Iraqi citizens over the age of 21 should receive 1 share of stock in this holding company by the end of August and for the foreseeable future each non-felon Iraqi upon reaching the age of 21 should be given his/her share.
It would be a generous gesture of gratitude if 1 share were given to each of the foreign soldiers who fought to “free” Iraq, together with honorary citizenship in the new Iraq, and an extra share given to the families of those who died in the campaign. The Holding Co. should be encouraged to declare dividends at a specified and significant percent of earnings and pay them to the owners of record quarterly.
After a brief lock-up period these shares should be fully transferable at zero or very low cost, and trade each business day visibly on the Iraqi Stock Exchange. This would give all Iraqis a stake in the future of their country, free up the wealth for economic expansion and remove the greatest incentive for armed rebellion in the Iraq. The daily price of the stock would reflect the conditions in the oil market and the hopes and aspirations of the Iraqi people for the future of their country. This price would also be a barometer of conditions in Iraq.
More importantly, a government of reduced power and wealth will not be worth militarily trying to capture. Witha smaller government that doesn't have laegess to dispurse, government service wwould become a “chore” to be performed by the successful, accomplished and public-spirited, rather than a “prize” to be won by the selfish, greedy, ambitious and power-hungry. A rediscovery of the benefits of limited government in Iraq, might enable us to redeem our experience in Iraq if we can apply these same principles to our own Federal Government in Washington. Thank-you, Nancy Pelosi.
Just don't go overboard in "pontificating" the House Speaker.
Pelosi and all her rats can go straight to hell, as far as I'm concerned.
"Through Privatization and Decentralization of the economic wealth of the country."
Under sharia law and the islam-o-pigs nothing like that will happen.
If each Iraqi citizen was issued 10 shares of oil stock, then the country would have free enterprise, because the oil fields would be public and not government controlled.
As long as government maintains control of the oil, they will cause influences and disagreements which will fuel civil war for control.
Your synopsis is one of the best ideas I have heard in a long time.
of course, there are socialists who will oppose this idea tooth and nail because they lose control of the people.
We have a lot of anti free enterprise people in our own government. There is be A BIG battle for control. It is not just an Iraqi problem. It is.....
worldwide!
Read the article! Why should we care who gets the credit? So long as a "good" policy gets implemented.
If we have any power at all, we make it happen. The people will thank us. Using our power appropriately is what it's all about.
Pass it on. The present administration has apparently lost its way in the confusion that reigns in Iraq. Can we snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?
Time is short. The anti peace jihadis are killing off the good people by the hundreds every week.
At some point very soon the only solution may to be to glass over Baghdad.
The jihadis care little about money. They just want to assume control. There seems to be an abundance of the willing. Anyone who resists them is an infidel. Simply an excuse to kill.
Hey, I agree with you for the most part. Not that I agree with Pelosi, but it is strange she would float a capitalist idea. But there are a lot of good people in Iraq who would seize the opportunity to own something of value.
I also agree with you that there is an abundance of murderers in Iraq (and the Middle East) who enjoy killing anyone, especially Americans.
If it were up to me I would nuke Iran. I would nuke N Korea. otherwise the problems will NOT go away. They will use nukes and have no remorse. Using nukes for the good of mankind is ok. Using nukes to reinforce evil is not ok. Somehow people (politicians) have lost grasp of what it takes to fight evil.
A good show of force is exactly what we need to break the will of the islamomurderers. Unfortunately after the initial whipping of Saddam, politicians have watered down the response so much the enemy actually feels like they can beat us.
Especially with the help of the Kofi Annans and the henry kissingers and the john kerrys and the jack murtha types, the advice of people who don't know how to win a war is good propaganda for the haters of America.
The only war they want to win is re-election. Beyond that, they couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag.
Control can only be capitalized into $, and $ = control. It's all the same.
Nancy didn't recommend PRIVATIZATION. She did say that "Iraq is a problem to be solved not a war to be won." She's right as far as she goes. The answer to the problem is PRIVATIZATION. It's the silver bullet that converts Socialism to Free Enterprise. Paul Gigot is WRONG!! There is a silver bullet. It's PRIVATIZATION and the 1st step is the Oil Resources. Bring all Iraqi citizens into the process, eliminate the stakes for military action on the opposition side; and raise the incentive for ordinary citizens to give information to stop the insurgents. Also provide the resources to individuals to start businesses which will ultimately jump-start their economy.
Finally, someone understands what I'm saying!! I think the mention of the name "Nancy Pelosi" must have turned all the readers off. Who cares who gets credit, as long as the "right" policy gets implemented?
“Oil Policy” is what’s holding up the pacification of Iraq. Oil revenues is what is “fueling” all the sectarian violence. The ‘winners” hope to take control of the $$$$. From an investment standpoint it probably makes sen$$e to spend a little $’s in the hope of gaining a lot of $$$. So as long as the wells remain in play the fighting will continue.
Solution: As described above in the article, GIVE AWAY OWNERSHIP of all the oil resources through stocks to individuals of whatever sect or group who qualify. There will then be NOTHING over which to fight. All law-abiding citizens will also have a vested interest in restoring and maintaining the peace, because their investment will be worth more under these circumstances.
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