According to the CBS News last night, Russia is Iraq's largest trading
partner and France is third-largest. France has 2 huge oil exploration
projects going on (CBS made it sound as thought they've literally been
given the region to drill for oil). Russia brokers 40% of Iraq's oil for
them, making huge profits doing so. If indeed this is true, it would
certainly explain why they want to see Saddam remain in charge...they've
got some sweetheart deals going. So maybe this Security Council deadlock
is about oil?
John Lee
At 02:01 PM 2/20/03 -0800, Mark Boyd wrote:
>Just how the heck is attacking Iraq a response to 9/11? Granted, I don't
>watch much television, so there could be all kinds of ties to Iraq, but I
>thought the trail of the 9/11 people lead back to the Saudis. Geedub's
>hard-on for Iraq is for their oil, plain and simple.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: John Lee [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2003 1:06 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] OT: We're just haggling over the price
>
>
>So all of you, the opinions of whom I respect, I repeat an earlier
>question: if you were President, what would your response to Sept. 11 have
>been? We all sit here criticizing this party or that, and it's really easy
>to take shots at W, but come clean here - if you're him, what would you have
>done? Or doesn't anybody want to be on the hotseat?
>
>John Lee
>
>
>
>At 02:45 PM 2/20/03 EST, Wirt Atmar wrote:
>>Yosef writes:
>>
>>> Turkey, one of the members of "The Coalition of the Willing," has
>refused an
>>> offer of 26 billion dollars to let the US use their country to
>>> launch an attack on Iraq.
>>
>>Turkey hasn't yet completely refused, they just want more money. Their
>>last bid was for 32 billion dollars. Colin Powell reportedly told
>>Turkey just yesterday that 26 billion was as much as the US was
>>prepared to pay them in order for them to be a "willing partner."
>>
>>In the 1991 Gulf War, the level of world-wide assistance was such that
>>the US made a profit. The single greatest expense for the war was the
>>cost of fuel, which the Saudis provided for free in 1991. This time,
>>they're charging slightly higher than market rates -- and asking that
>>after the coming war, all US forces leave the country. And no country
>>this time is providing any significant support, other than Kuwait and
>>Qatar, in contrast to the significant levels of aid that most of Europe
>>and Japan provided earlier.
>>
>>The "Coalition of the Willing" in 2003 is made up primarily of such
>>bulwarks of freedom and democracy as Romania and Bulgaria and some of
>>the former republics of Yugoslavia. On the other hand, "willing
>>partners" Estonia, Latavia and Lithuiania are providing such valuable
>>assistance as the use of their airspace, should the battle move
>>northward, toward the Baltic.
>>
>>To the best of my knowledge, the payments to these countries have not
>>yet been disclosed, but I'm sure that they will be soon. In the
>>meantime, it appears that entire cost for this elective war will be
>>picked up by the American taxpayer. Record deficits, a faltering
>>economy and world-wide popular opposition are not the stuff that deters
>>a "real leader."
>>
>>Wirt Atmar
>>
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>>
>
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>
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