Op-Ed: Is Iraq's New Hydrocarbon Law a War on Terror, or Oil Control?

The headline sounds like a catch phrase, but how much do you really know about what’s going on in Iraq when it comes to oil? Do your eyes quickly glaze over at the thought of even attempting to study the intricacies of Shiite vs. Sunni vs. Kurd?

BAGHDAD - Iraq's cabinet approved changes to a draft hydrocarbon law on Tuesday and sent it to parliament for immediate debate, taking a big step towards meeting a key political target set by the United States. This latest draft in a series of oil laws will deal more specifically with the re-distribution of oil revenues among Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish regions of Iraq. When you read the headlines about Iraq, and you hear about the bloodshed and rampant loss of life, do you ever ask yourself what exactly is going on over there? When you shake it all down, do you find yourself overwhelmed by the idea of even beginning to understand the political intricacy of Sunni’s vs. Shiites? What about the Kurds? Do your eyes glaze over at the mere thought of even attempting to follow the behind the scenes initiatives of the war in Iraq? I genuinely believe that most Americans and citizens of nations around the world have not been adequately educated on the situation in Iraq. Who has time? It seems the leaders of various governments, most notably the U.S. provide the basic information we need to know [propaganda]. Well I for one wanted to dig deeper into this quagmire and try to understand what the driving force is beyond the daily headlines about the war in Iraq. I do not claim to be an expert by any means, but thought I would share my understanding and perspectives as best as I can, relative to the basic fundamental issues surrounding the current situation in Iraq. As stated by President Bush the purpose of the U.S. invasion in Iraq was “to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.” -March 2003 Forces from the U.S., Britain, Australis, and other countries invade Iraq. U.S. forces provided the majority of troops and also received support from Kurdish troops in Iraq. -April 2003 Baghdad was formally occupied by U.S. forces and the power of Saddam Hussein was declared ended. -May 2003 Bush gives speech announcing the end of major combat operations in the Iraq war. A banner stating “Mission Accomplished” was a backdrop for his speech. -December 2003 Saddam Hussein is captured. Okay, so based on the presidents stated purpose, we should have been done at that point. We should have acted in accordance with the banner that flew during his speech "mission accomplished" and welcomed our troops home. So why are we still there four years later? Why have approximately 3,500 American soldiers died, thousands wounded and maimed for life, and over $439,917,910,740 and rising been spent on this war as of July 3, 2007? Have we won the war on terror yet? Are we really fighting a war on terror? What is all the fighting about within Iraq? From what I can gather it is mostly political and all about oil, although some islamic jihad ideology is clearly in the mix, it is a majority of infighting, and not directed against the U.S. If you break it down to basics, it is about who is controlling the government and the oil, and where the oil revenues will be distributed. Iraqi Regions Simplified * Kurds control the north. The Kurdish region has the majority of the oil fields. Kurds are the majority in Iraqi Parliament. Kurds are friendly with the United States. Kurds want REGIONAL distribution of oil revenue. Okay, so in a nutshell they want the money for the oil produced on their land since they own the most oil fields in Iraq. * Sunnis control the Center and Shiites control the South. Sunnis and most Shiites in the government are pushing for strong CENTRAL control of the oil and the money, promising development and revenue sharing that will benefit the entire country. Okay, they want the revenues from the Kurdish region since they don't have enough oil production in the Sunni and Shiite regions. They are for the greater good of the country. Not only do the Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds have differing desires when it comes to oil revenue, they are historically violently apposed to each other from a religious aspect. These are groups of people who have never been able to dwell in peace among each other. And to complicate matters, each group seems to have different allies. Iraq has become a pro-Western Kurdistan in the north, an Iranian-dominated Shiite entity in the south, and a chaotic Sunni Arab region in the center. An Unprecedented Change in Oil Leases The oil law, also known as Hydrocarbon Law, is in its development phase. The first phase of Hydrocarbon Law which “federalized” oil revenues was passed in March, 2007. The hydrocarbon law establishes a new Iraqi Federal Oil and Gas Council [IFOGC] with ultimate decision-making authority over the types of contracts that will be employed for oil leases. This Council will include, among others, “executive managers of from important related petroleum companies.” Thus, it is possible that foreign oil company executives could sit on the Council. The Council will also decide the fate of the existing exploration and production contracts already signed with the French, Chinese, and Russians, among others. The Iraqi Federal Oil and Gas Council [IFOGC] has clearly been set up to be the dominant power when it comes to oil policies within Iraq. The new oil law draft [the next phase of hydrocarbon law] which will be debated in parliament on Wednesday will address in more detail the issues of distribution of revenue. This is a more contentious issue among the clashing regions as each one demands what they consider their fair share. The upcoming debate in parliament will likely spark increases in violence among the regions. So what does all of this have to do with the U.S.? Why are our beloved U.S. citizens fighting in Iraq? Is this about terrorism against the U.S.? If the U.S. ceased to occupy Iraq, would that change the fighting among Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds? Would they suddenly decide they were a team and come after the U.S.? I doubt it. Terrorism continues world wide and there are cells scattered among many nations, not just in Iraq. It seems more and more clear that the intention of the U.S. was to invade, conquer, and control the oil in Iraq. Iraq needs our money to rebuild [after the mass destruction we caused when we invaded] therefore we “influenced” Parliament into voting for an unprecedented change that will allow long term oil leases to foreign investors [20 to 30 year terms]. It is through the new Hydrocarbon Law that foreign corporations will now be able to control the oil. Iraq is the third largest oil producing nation and it is known to have a cleaner more high quality oil. What an incredible windfall that will be for the major oil companies, with the trade off being thousands of U.S. Troops in the name of patriotism losing life and limb and soundness of mind. What a tremendous cost we have paid for that oil. Now that the U.S. has managed to gain control over Iraq's oil fields, why must we continue fighting the war? Why was it recently necessary to have such a massive increase of troops in Iraq? It seems apparent to me it is because of the invested interests of large oil refining corporations like Exxon and Mobile. The best way to guard their interests is to try to control fighting among the regions in Iraq, continue to “influence” Iraqi Parliament, and provide “security forces” to guard the corporately leased oil fields. And now we see a movement to do the same thing in Iran. It is never presented in the beginning as an attempt to invade, conquer, and control their oil. But it will inescapably result in the same pattern of death and destruction as a price to be paid for power and oil. Is this justice? Is this a true American ideal worth fighting for? Is this a fight for freedom and liberty or an act of power and aggression? Are we truly fighting terrorism? I think not. You tell me.