Dollars, not Democracy, drive U.S. foreign policy


Last week, members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee grilled Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about a hydrocarbon law being considered by Iraq's parliament. The bill, the contents of which have not been published, is expected to prescribe how Iraq's oil revenue will be shared among the major factions in that country. The measure also is supposed to spell out the degree to which foreign companies could invest - and profit - from Iraq's oil industry.

Despite Iraq's secrecy in drafting this law, Rice hinted to senators that she has knowledge of the bill's contents and assured them it would be a remarkable law.

Remarkable indeed. Four days before Rice went before the committee, The Independent, a British newspaper, reported that the Bush administration is heavily involved in writing Iraq's oil law, a draft of which the paper said it had obtained. The law would allow Western oil companies contracts of up to 30 years to pump oil out of Iraq, and the profits would be tax-free, the newspaper reported.

Many foreign and domestic critics of the war have charged that getting control of Iraq's oil - not getting rid of weapons of mass destruction - was the real motivation behind President Bush's decision to topple Saddam Hussein.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20070116/cm_usatoday/dollarsnotjustdemocracyoftendriveusforeignpolicy

Posted: Tue - January 16, 2007 at 03:23 PM          

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