A brief story of the four killed Russian diplomats
US Vice President Dick Cheney said in May that Russia was using oil and gas riches as “tools of manipulation and blackmail.”
The coalition forces especially carry the responsibility of ensuring security in Iraq, including the defense of foreign diplomatic missions and their personnel. We have more than once insisted to the command of the foreign military contingent that it take appropriate measures,
Russia will insist on convening an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in the wake of a murder of four Russian diplomats by radical Islamic abductors in Iraq.
It will also insist that the UN Security Council issue an appropriate statement in connection with that heinous crime
President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Russian ambassadors on Tuesday.
Russia’s “close and constructive dialogue with Israel”
The answer is simple “Vet”, without the illegal invasion none of the deaths in Iraq would be happening right now.
“If we lose this war, oil will be $100 a barrel, and if we win, it will be, like, $25 a barrel.” — Donald Rumsfeld, American Defense Secretary
No problem Mark.
Any chance someone could provide a direct link on that quote?
Rummy may be evil and sinister and mean and make milkshakes out of babies, but he is far from stupid. That is just stupid.
Iraq makes up about 2% of world production. Even if we stole ALL of Iraq’s oil, thereby decreasing world market demand by about 2%, it would not impact market prices in the least. Well, maybe a tiiiiiiny bit. But probably not since world consumption is increasing at a similar rate.
Its very odd that he would say that.
Perroquet – what is the original source for this? I tried googling but it all seems to lead back to an op-ed from Mohamed Elmasry. He does not reference the quote.
If its true, I’m glad Runny is responsible for military issues and not the economy…
Rumsfeld’s words were widely reported, here’s just one link.
http://www.militaryproject.org/PDF/vol3/GI%20Special%203C80%20War%20Support%20At%20Record%20Low.pdf
Char lie writes “Iraq makes up about 2% of world production. Even if we stole ALL of Iraq’s oil, thereby decreasing world market demand by about 2%, it would not impact market prices in the least.”
The depths of your stupidly and your ability to lie seems to grow with each day. If it wasn’t for the Iraqi resistance sabotaging Iraqi oil, Iraq would be capable of providing a half of the USA’s daily usage and what’s more at a price that the USA chooses. Anyone who doubts that it would not have a significant affect on world prices has to be a liar or a loony, or in your case both.
Perroquet,
Why are your posts always filled with such hate and fantastic hyperbole? You seem a bit unhinged.
Now if we actually consider the facts – and not your hyperbolized fantasies, we would see that Iraq produces roughly 2% of the worlds oil. If ALL of that were stolen (there is no historical precedent for this type of action, nor is there any evidence to suggest this), then it would NOT significantly impact world market prices. This is because rising world demand would compensate for the decrease in US demand from world markets.
Now if the US were somehow able to instantly increase production in the sorely run down infrastructure by 5x-10x, then it would impact prices. But if the increases in production were spread out over the next 5-10 years, it would be absorbed by increased US and world demand. Keep in mind, as prices dropped, there would be an increase in demand as people consumed more, so things would actually balance out.
All of your extremist conclusions are based on fantasies you invent perroquet.
Sorry perroquet,
It is the same reference to Elmasry.
You really do have a knack of coming out with crap. Must of Iraq’s current oil production, limited though it is, is being unmetered. In other words no one actually knows for sure how much is being produced and therefore it’s impossible to know what price the USA is paying for it, if anything at all. Clearly this has an effect on whether OPEC can sell their oil at the desired price, at least it would if the US could improve production, therefore it would under those circumstances affect all oil prices.
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/45456.pdf
Iraq Oil Reserves and Production History. With 115 billion barrels of provencrude oil reserves, Iraq has the world’s second-largest endowment of oil, amounting to 11% of the global total. Only 17 of 80 oil fields have been developed; the mostsignificant are Kirkuk in the north and Rumaila in the south. There has been virtuallynoexploration for many years, suggesting that Iraq may have much more oil than currentlyestimated. Iraq also has significant proven natural gas reserves; virtually all areundeveloped. As a point of reference, Saudi Arabia, at 260 billion barrels of proven oilreserves, has the largest reserve base and can produce as much as 10.5 million barrels perday (mbd).
Iraqi Oil Production Potential. With 112 billion barrels of proven oil reserves,Iraq could potentially produce far more oil than has been realized in its history. Given astable security situation, very large amounts of capital investment, and the involvementof one or more large oil companies, it would be realistic to suggest potential outputramping up to 5 or 6 million barrels per day over a period of several years. But, givencurrent difficulties, it would seem that this sort of eventuality is far off.
Again, tripling oil production over several years, if it were in fact all stolen, would not cause a collapse in oil prices. World demand is increasing as fast or faster than production increases. Also, if prices were to drop, that demand would simply increase faster.
But there is still nothing to suggest that the US would be capable or even strategically interested in stealing the oil production. That would be hard not to notice. Even in our most gruesome imperialistic moods, we are still happy to pay a fair price.
Apparently the ‘unmetered’ oil production is around 2-2.5 mbpd.
The problem with your conspiracies is that it only takes one tiny link in the chain to unravel everything. It would be absolutely impossible to cover up something so massive.
Again, tripling oil production over several years, if it were in fact all stolen, would not cause a collapse in oil prices. World demand is increasing as fast or faster than production increases. Also, if prices were to drop, that demand would simply increase faster.
I think the simple fact that you are overlooking, or more likely not prepared to admit, is that the current reduced oil production is not a part of the plan. You can tell from Rumsfeld’s quote that the expectation was that the oil would actually pay for the invasion. Thanks to the resistance that ambition has not been realised.
But there is still nothing to suggest that the US would be capable or even strategically interested in stealing the oil production. That would be hard not to notice. Even in our most gruesome imperialistic moods, we are still happy to pay a fair price.
Really? you do come out with some crap.
“In the past, dependence on oil has cost our economy dearly. Oil price shocks and price manipulation by the OPEC cartel from 1979 to 1991 cost the U.S. economy about $4 trillion, almost as much as we spent on national defense over the same time period and more than the interest payments on the national debt. Each major price shock of the past three decades was followed by an economic recession in the United States. With growing U.S. imports and increasing world dependence on OPEC oil, future price shocks are possible and would be costly to the U.S. economy.”
(Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Spring 2002.)
So much for the angy parrots fantasies…
http://www.house.gov/schakowsky/iraqquotes_web.htm
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz: “There’s a lot of money to pay for this that doesn’t have to be U.S. taxpayer money, and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people…and on a rough recollection, the oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years…We’re dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.� [Source: House Committee on Appropriations Hearing on a Supplemental War Regulation, 3/27/03]
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: “If you [Source: worry about just] the cost, the money, Iraq is a very different situation from Afghanistan…Iraq has oil. They have financial resources.� [Source: Fortune Magazine, Fall 2002]
State Department Official Alan Larson: “On the resource side, Iraq itself will rightly shoulder much of the responsibilities. Among the sources of revenue available are $1.7 billion in invested Iraqi assets, the found assets in Iraq…and unallocated oil-for-food money that will be deposited in the development fund.� [Source: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on Iraq Stabilization, 06/04/03]
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: “I don’t believe that the United States has the responsibility for reconstruction, in a sense…[Reconstruction] funds can come from those various sources I mentioned: frozen assets, oil revenues and a variety of other things, including the Oil for Food, which has a very substantial number of billions of dollars in it. [Source: Senate Appropriations Hearing, 3/27/03]
Duh?
But how does that support your fantasy that the US will steal oil?
We certainly don’t like major shocks to world oil prices. No one does. But jumping from the acknowledgement that oil supply plays a major role in the developed worlds’ economies, and a sinister plan to steal oil, it a bit of a stretch (to put it mildly).
Although world petroleum consumption growth has slowed because of higher prices, projected consumption growth nevertheless remains strong at 1.7 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2006 and 1.9 million bbl/d in 2007.
What has this to do with the US calling it’s own price on Iraqi oil?
check this out liar, it’s about unmetered oil
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 24 – While Iraq is on lockdown, that country’s oil continues to flow unmetered. Basic information about the issue continues to be shrouded in mystery by the International Advisory and Monitoring Board for the Development Fund for Iraq. In just-released minutes of IAMB’s Jan. 23 meeting in Paris, it is vaguely stated that “the IAMB was informed that no progress had been made with regards to the metering contract.�
But how does that support your fantasy that the US will steal oil?
You can’t really be this dumb? If the invasion had gone to plan Iraq would be producing 3 times more oil than it does now and at a price the USA calls, is this not stealing the natural resources of Iraq which belong to Iraqis and not American oil companies?
4/3/2006
http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/1255
Iraqi oil exports dive; there’s no telling where the money went
Filed under: General Commentary Weldon’s Page Eat the Press— Weldon Berger @ 3:57 pm
Permanent Link
Iraq’s oil exports hit another post-invasion low in December and January, according to the Oil & Gas Journal. How do they know? Good question: according to Reuters, production and exports have gone unmetered since the Coalition Provisional Authority took over the country following the 2003 invasion; until new meters are installed, everybody’s just guessing.
Among the best chronicles of the haziness surrounding Iraq’s oil production and exports — and the general pall of corruption that hangs over the country — comes from journalist Ed Harriman, writing in the July, 2005 issue of the London Review of Books. Harriman wrote that in addition to the roughly $9 billion in Iraqi oil funds that vanished without a trace during CPA head Paul Bremer’s reign, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board established to oversee and audit CPA expenditures of Iraqi cash “discovered that Iraqi oil exports were unmetered.�
Certainly not a bad thing for Iraq.
Where does this come from?
But you have already drawn a conclusion before such a thing has occurred. Your claims lack logical validity.
Iraq would be producing 3 times more oil than it does now
Certainly not a bad thing for Iraq.
It could be of course, if Iraq wasn’t occupied and that the profits are being creamed off by American companies and in some cases simply embezzled.
and at a price the USA calls
Where does this come from?
Are you doubting it? Did you not read the link concerning the missing $9 billion in oil revenues during the time that Bremner was in charge? Now of course it’s being un metered. Why exactly, are meters hard to come by?
But you have already drawn a conclusion before such a thing has occurred. Your claims lack logical validity.
And your denials lack all credibility, even for a professional liar.