Comments on: Cheney: Iraq To Be Self-Governing By 2009

Politico: Vice President Calls Surge Strategy “A Remarkable Success Story”

[starleo146]

MarketWatch reports executives from BP and Shell were to meet with Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani following Wednesday''s meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Abu Dhabi. The global energy information firm Platts reports top ministry and company officials are to meet in Amman this week.

Shahristani himself dropped hints to United Press International in a recent interview. He said he''s moving forward with oil deals despite the lack of a new national oil law, a draft of which has been stalled in negotiations for more than a year.

"This has nothing to do with the national oil law. There is no timeline. Whenever we finish our discussions we''ll just sign the contracts," he told UPI on the sidelines of the OPEC heads of state summit last month.

"This is basically technical-support contracts," he said, adding the contracts will not be the result of a bidding process. "Selected companies will offer us technical support that we need to develop our producing fields."

[starleo146]

Big Oil''s big dreams are close to coming true as Iraq''s Oil Ministry prepares deals for the country''s largest oil fields with terms that aren''t necessarily what companies were hoping for but considered a foot in the door of the world''s most promising oil sector.

Iraq''s proven oil reserves are only smaller than those in Saudi Arabia and Iran -- and the country is only about 30 percent explored.

Iraq produces about 2.4 million barrels per day, a recent increase from the 2 million bpd post-invasion average, but far below what its reserves could handle. Its oil sector is suffering from decades of Saddam Hussein-era mismanagement, U.N. sanctions and the effects of the current war.

The decision of how to develop a resource that provides for nearly the entire federal budget is political and controversial. To each side''s alarm, the national government will rely on a Saddam-era law and Iraq''s Kurdish region is signing deals on its own.

Details of negotiations between the ministry and international oil majors are being kept quiet, though media are picking up on pieces of deal-making.

[pastdue1]

"The surge is working" is just another slogan to continue the same. We have had so many different slogans thrown at us during this war. None have been totally accurate, but, more important, slogans do not really win wars, they merely allow supporters to pretend they do. Cheney will continue to espouse his inane slogans to his believers until the day he leaves office ~ and with never an apology to the rest of us for foisting his duplicity on the nation.

[nggr]

everything this guy says is a engineered statement.
its all thought out very carefully, and a lot of his past statements have been out right lies. or opinions disguised as facts.
based on his track record, you can''t take any statement he makes seriously.

[sgtrds]

Every time I see the smug evil smirk on Cheney''s face all I can think of is why doesn''t this fat bas***** do the whole world a favor and just die.

[von_marko]

With a Democrat as US Prez, Iraq will be self governing in about a week. Problem is that it will be Iran doing the "self-governing"!

[agnim]

"Cheney: Iraq To Be Self-Governing By 2009"

Ha ha ha!

Iraq will be ''self-governing'' AGAIN, when the likes of Cheney leave the ancient Babylonians alone; but not while the bush devil is in office. LOL

[fizzal-2009]

Why didn,t he put electric lights on the tree? Is he afrid someone might pickit.

[j-whitman]

mudnose,,,, "Beneficiaries of same essential values" ??? ------ Your values tell you lies & dishonor, torture, war profiteering, running from active duty & perversions are good values ----- Those aren''t my values

[forthepeopl1]

it''s so funny that they think that this all that has been destoyed by the bush adminastration(cheney) everyday they do it. and for our congressman and woman and senators to be suprised that this happen is killing me i cant stop laughing, boy do we have a stupid and so blind goverment

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a persistent critic of the Bush administration''s anti-terrorism policies, was to speak on the Senate floor about the destruction of the interrogation tapes, and its not having been revealed for some two years. At least one Republican lawmaker has also expressed dismay over the destruction of the tapes.

The CIA''s destruction of the tapes came in the midst of Congressional and legal scrutiny about its secret detention program, according to current and former government officials.
White House officials declined this morning to comment on the matter.

"This matter must be promptly and fully investigated," said Harman, now head of the Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence and terrorism risk assessment. She noted that in early 2003 she received "a highly classified briefing" on CIA interrogation practices from the agency''s general counsel, and that she had expressed "serious concerns" in a letter to the lawyer afterward.

"I call for my letter of February 2003, which was never responded to and has been in the CIA''s files ever since, to be declassified," the Congresswoman said.