[dennisw]

That's why our invasion force has been upped. To take control of oil fields and oil facilities. After all who do you think is going to pay the bill for this war? States, counties and cites are running deficits. Fed deficit will be dramatically larger.

Simple solution is to have Iraqi oil pay our war bills. American public will applaud this and love this genius attack plan/pay the bills plan.

[DJ Frisat]

I have a couple of problems.

1) Although I realize that this might be pure hogwash designed to obfuscate real plans, it might not be. If it's not, I don't like the idea of their knowing our strategies in advance.

2) While I think protecting the oil fields against Iraqi sabotage is a great idea, an immediate takeover with an announced intent of financing our operations would give the libs and the Arab nations too much ammunition in the "It's all about oil, America wants to control our resources" argument.

It's not about oil, it's about freedom for the Iraqi people, continued security for our nation and denying dangerous dictators the possesion catastrophic weapons.

[bert]

Just as they deny that taxcuts increase revenues Rats deny that spoils of war don't pay the costs we can't afford.

[WhiteGuy]

After all who do you think is going to pay the bill for this war?

So, American forces slip in and capture the Iraqi iol fields. Then American forces turn over the Iraqi oil production program over to.........??????

In other words who will the oil companies BUY the oil from?

The militatry? the US government? the Iraqi's? Who will earn the profit?

What if the takeover of the oil fields goes less well?

Perhaps 50% to 75% of the wells are destroyed?

Who will pay to repair them? AND who will profit from the billions it will cost (US Taxpayers) to repair them.

I'd sure like to know the answesrs to these questions, wouldn't you?

[buffyt]

That is just what I have been thinking, this is why our military build up has taken so long over there. We want to secure the oil wells BEFORE SaDAMN Insane has time to blow them up or set fire to them. We will probably be going to live in Kuwait in the near future, AFTER the war is over.

[sneakypete]

After all who do you think is going to pay the bill for this war?

The taxpayers,of course.

Simple solution is to have Iraqi oil pay our war bills.

Yes,it is,but that won't happen.

American public will applaud this and love this genius attack plan/pay the bills plan.

If they do any applauding,it will be to a empty promise. There is not one chance in hell of this happening. Number 1,the howls of outrage from all over the world about the "United States comitting war for profit and the theft of other countries assets" would stop any such plan in it's tracks.Number 2 is it will take a long time for any real profits to surface after the war ends. This is because Hussein will blow up all the wells,and it will take time and money to put the fires out and get the wells producing again. Once this happens,any profits to emerge will be used to rebuild Iraq and feed her citizens. IF we are lucky we MAY end up getting some small amount somewhere down the road to help us pay for our occupation forces. Maybe.

[appeal2]

I hear there's a new credit card being issued by OPEC. You can use it to bomb arabs, seize oil fields and depose unfriendly leaders and best of all there's no credit limit. Apply now and as a marketing incentive pay no interest for the rest of the decade and then your rate jumps to 1.2%.

[BlackVeil]

There has already been discussion, on the financial pages, about who would get those oil wells. The idea is that the Iraqi oil concessions would go all to US companies - like in Saudi Arabia. This is not the case in Iraq at the moment. The problem is that French and Russian interests have most of the oil contracts in Iraq at the moment. Would they keep them after the war? Probably not, unless they send forces in.

There was an article in 'Business Review Weekly', an Australian magazine, a few months back, and they were talking about dividing the spoils in post-war Iraq (didn't put it quite so frankly as that, of course.) The article had a greedy tone, and noted with regret that although Australia will have forces, if there is an invasion, Australian resources companies will not be given any Iraqi assets.