State Department Probes Iraq Oil Contracts

Democratic Senators' Claim Officials Pushed No-Bid Contracts With Western Companies

(AP)  The State Department's inspector general is investigating Iraqi oil contracts after four Democratic senators complained that department employees may have encouraged lucrative oil deals between Iraq and several Western companies.

Any backstage meddling would have violated Bush administration policy, which has been to discourage such deals until Baghdad passes a law that will fairly divide the nation's oil resources among the various provinces.

A congressional official on Thursday confirmed the probe, speaking on condition of anonymity because it involved an investigation. It comes about a week after four Democratic senators called on Harold Geisel, the State Department's acting inspector general, to investigate the matter.

"We are concerned that U.S. policy regarding these oil contracts has not been clearly defined, communicated or consistently implemented by the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan Regional Government and international oil companies seeking to do business in Iraq," Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan, Chuck Schumer of New York, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Claire McCaskill of Missouri said in their July 16 letter.

In response, Geisel wrote back on July 22 and told the lawmakers he had "initiated a review of the responses provided to the Congress recently on the issues surrounding oil contracts, oil field development and U.S. policy in Iraq."

In early July, Levin asked Stephen Hadley, the president's national security adviser, to respond to news reports that State Department employees had advised Iraq on no-bid technical contracts.

His request followed one by Schumer, Kerry and McCaskill that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice try to block any deals between Iraq and the oil companies, including U.S-based Exxon Mobil.

The Bush administration says its policy has been to discourage the deals, but suggests it has no plans to interfere.

"The United States government has stayed absolutely out of the matter of the awarding of Iraqi oil contracts," Rice said in June. "It's a private sector matter."

But according to a recent investigation by the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee, the administration's policy was not expressed to at least one U.S. company. And in some cases, State Department and other administration officials even encouraged an exploration deal between Texas-based Hunt Oil Co. and Iraq's Kurdish government, according to e-mails released by the panel.

[babooph]

Iraq has one of the biggest reserves of oil. It was nationalised-belonging to the public-now we have given it to private companies-this competition has given us the new ,very low ,price we now enjoy.

[woodjd42]

What''s the investigation for? Isn''t this why bush/chaney is having our young men and women die for? Didn''t chaney say the oil would pay for the war? Isn''t the war about the rich friends of bush/chaney getting richer?

[mgeg1]

Mind-blowing how they get away with it, isn''t it?

[liberalme]

The Bush administration says its policy has been to discourage the deals, but suggests it has no plans to interfere.


The Bush cartel discouraging deals?? Say it ain''t so!!

This past 7 years and 6 months has NOT been about Americans and has NOT been about America it has been about getting what they want (oil anyone?) and killing anyone who gets in their way.

Their reign in Washington began as criminal and has gotten worse.
We are America and we need to make demands on our elected officials to hold everyone complicit with the Bush administration accountable--dems as well as republicans--Americans have been too quite.

[liberalme]

nope.....you really arent the sharpest knife in the drawer are you?

Posted by jamesm12341 at 08:46 AM : Jul 25, 2008

WOW jwind11--your contribution, as usual, is not informative, or intelligent.

You really get a kick out of being stupid, and you prove it daily!!

[liberalme]

i bet you won''''t


Posted by jamesm12341

I already have

[liberalme]

have you ever read your posts?

Posted by jamesm12341

Sigh--I read everyones post, and yours by far, are the most immature.

[liberalme]

and like everything else in your loser life....you were unsuccessful...but thats ok...like always...you can blame someone else for your failure.
Posted by jamesm12341

I haven''t failed at a thing in my life, but you have---you''re a very angry person.

[liberalme]

denial is common in loser libs.

Posted by jamesm12341

Obviously in uninformed neocons like yourself as well.

[newsjunky5]

"JUST WHAT THE HECK DID THIS ARTICLE SAY? A FILLER STORY THAT HAS NO BODY TO IT AND EVEN LESS INFORMATION."
------------------------------------
It says Bush lied again. Said one thing and did another. It''s under investigation by Congress, so they won''t comment much on the details yet. With oil at 3 times plus, since he took office, you have to wonder how crashing 4 planes into 3 buildings and the ground did this. Everything after 9/11 was Bush''s call.

[newsjunky5]

"doesn''''t say that"
-----------------------
You''re right, it says the State Department Inspector General is investigating at the urging of 4 Congressmen. Nothing will come of it.

[sistatee-2009]

department employees may have encouraged lucrative oil deals between Iraq and several Western companies.

No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lochlan-2009]

This administration still isn''t in jail.

[jtdev1]

it''s always been about oil. We knew this long before we were told we''re invading.

I just can''t wait until next January. We need a new direction in this country. I just hope it will happen.

[marcosis78]

I hope Obama becomes president and theres some "leaks" about the Bush administration. Mainly things incriminating Bushy about all this oil pricing gimmick.

[hbevis]

it''''s always been about oil. We knew this long before we were told we''''re invading.

I just can''''t wait until next January. We need a new direction in this country. I just hope it will happen.


Posted by jtdev1 at 11:42 AM : Jul 25, 2008

Lets be careful of what we wish for. There will a change for sure come January 2009. Lets hope it will not be a change we will like.

[apoeticturtl]

In 2006 Bush appointed Ray L. Hunt to the "President%u2019s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in Washington."(An oil man to foriegn intelligence???). In 2007 news articles start reporting "Bush-linked Texas company signs oil deal with Iraqi Kurds", "White House linked to Kurdistan oil deal", etc... Now, 2008 a State Department probe. Do the research, see the trail.

[hbevis]

I have become convinced that 98 percent of these post are from super-liberals that are either crying about something or that hate Mr. Bush so much that they will say almost anything.

In reality most of the things in the news are slanted towards what the people doing the writing believe. And most or that has a liberal slant.

[samsel3]

So transparent. Wonder what happened in Cheney`s 2001 energy meetings?

Posted by Nancy_Naive at 07:16 AM : Jul 26, 2008

That''s why the administration had all documents sealed by the Court and declared their energy policy National Security.................

[samsel3]

Coincidentaly, the invasion of Iraq took place after George Herbert Walker Bush''s meetings with the Saudis at Walker Point in Maine. The Saudis and Saddam were enemies in the oil business. Saddam was getting back at the Saudis after Desert storm by undercutting oil prices. The Saudis and Big Oil wanted to get the prices up so they took out their chief competitor....

[samsel3]

"The United States government has stayed absolutely out of the matter of the awarding of Iraqi oil contracts," Rice said in June. "It''s a private sector matter."

As if to get us to believe that the Administration
does''nt get involved in private sector matters.

The invasion of Afghanistan was to get rid of the Taliban for UNOCAL''s Caspian Sea Pipelines Project, a private sector matter.........

And the extermination continues............

[samsel3]

"The United States government has stayed absolutely out of the matter of the awarding of Iraqi oil contracts," Rice said in June. "It''s a private sector matter."

As if to get us to believe that the Administration
does''nt get involved in private sector matters.

The invasion of Afghanistan was to get rid of the Taliban for UNOCAL''s Caspian Sea Pipelines Project, a private sector matter.........

And the extermination continues............

[samsel3]

Hunt, Cheney and the Bush family are members of the organisation PNAC, Project For A New American Century.

On January 26, 1998 in a letter to the President the PNAC asked Clinton to invade Iraq and get rid of Saddam Hussein. He refused their request. George W. Bush took their agenda and got it done...........Mission Accomplished !

[petro49l]

Bin Laden will turn Iraq into a poppy field. He would become the great opium mogul. Osama is carefully killing-off Taliban to create an elite region. Rank and file Arabs should not accept these massacres. There is no reason to be forced into the fighting by Bin Laden. Osama must be captured and tried for genocide.