RustyGate

Not that I count the New York Times as one of my trusted news sources. Lately, I tend to filter from a wide variety of sources and make up my own mind. But this breaking article was definitely worth quoting. An excerpt.

Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP … are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields.

Yeah, I think I’ve just had my “Ah HA!” moment. More follows (if you have the stomach for it).

The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India.

Oh, of course. No-one else can get a look in now, and it appears that “suspicion among many in the Arab world” was justified, innit? War for oil? Ya think?

The Bush administration has said that the war was necessary to combat terrorism. It is not clear what role the United States played in awarding the contracts; there are still American advisers to Iraq’s Oil Ministry.

Oh gosh, they’re not even pretending, are they? At this point, it’s also worth remembering George W. Bush’s many family, business and personal ties to the U.S. oil industry.

As the altar-boy said to the priest … are we done yet?