US plan to mortgage Iraq’s oil for $30b loan draws fire (Halliburton)

[Nambe]

Bahrain Tribune

American plans to mortgage Iraq’s future oil supplies to pay for expensive post-war reconstruction work risk a repeat of mistakes made with Germany after the World War I, debt relief campaigners said yesterday.

Much of the revenue will be securitised over at least a decade under the proposals being pushed by the US Export Import Bank, the Bush administration’s trade promotion body, and a lobbying group that includes key American contractors Bechtel and Halliburton.
Reports suggest that $30 billion of loans will be backed by Iraq’s reserves, the second biggest in the world.

Anne Pettifor, head of the Jubilee Plus debt relief campaign, said: “It is outrageous that the poor people of Iraq will be lumbered with billions of dollars of debt that will be used to boost the share prices of Wall Street financiers and US construction giants.”
She warned against the coalition “using the instrument of debt to control Iraq,” after it leaves. Such a motive was behind the way Germany was treated after 1918, provoking resentment that eventually encouraged the rise of Adolf Hitler.

Privatize bush It’s a Good Thing

[aquart]

1. Aww, the fascists are trying to reproduce.

Look how they're attempting to seed Iraq.

[Fovea]

17. just like vampires.

Bushferatu.

[sattahipdeep]

2. BANKS AND THE BROKERS

Although Mr. Tenet's statement did not say he had
personally cleared the speech, he said in his statement,
"I am responsible for the approval process in my agency."

"cleared at the highest levels of the C.I.A."
Executive Director Krongard.
http://www.hereinreality.com/insidertrading.html

[NYC]

3. Who is going to make the loan?

Suppose Iraqis take back control of their country? It is not likely they will use their oil to pay back what America borrowed. With any luck, this will deter lenders.

[bvar22]

4. I distinctly remember bunny* himself saying....

...that the oil belonged to the Iraqis. This maladministration couldn't be run by an unelected bunch of greedy pathological LIARS! That thought is tooooo horrible to contemplate. bunnypants* is an honorable man. Fox news says so....and they would never mislead the American people.

[ozone_man]

5. How do you justify destroying a country's infrastructure

and using their primary resource to rebuild the damage that we caused, while profiting the corporations owned by the neocons in power? What a disgrace.

[indictrichardperle]

6. Mortgaging Iraq's oil

against huge multi-billion dollar loans to pay for "reconstruction"....is in effect transferring all of Iraq's wealth to Halliburton and Bechtel. That is fuc*ing criminal.

This whole ugly scenario is no different than hitting someone over the head and stealing their wallet, a mugging on the world stage.

[LauraK]

7. Somebody is workiing full time funneling $$$ to Haliburton.

Somebody in an undisclosed location.

[farmboxer]

8. Crooks!

What else can I say?

[jamesinca]

9. If he can get an international peace keeping force in there

he will have hit the trifecta. 1) His military will be free to kick somebody elses butt and raise his sagging poll numbers. 2)Somebody elses soldiers will be getting shot and put an end to talk of American lives being lost over there. 3) He gets the oil to rebuild Iraq at no expense to the U.S. and it is Halliburton and Betchel that make the profit from this reconstruction, his oil friens get free oil to sell at inflated prices.

[LivingInTheBubble]

10. Is this a change of tactic?

The sabotage of oil pipelines means they cant sell oil now.

[teryang]

11. Exactly!

Now that Iraq is proving to be a liability rather than an asset, providing absolutely no liquidity, take out a mortgage. I've got a feeling this is a mortgage that will never be paid, like military loans to Poland and Israel.

Get the cash, declare victory and leave. I'm sure that the American taxpayer can "guarantee" the mortgage. I guess Enron and the huge tax cuts weren't enough for the greedy murderers.

[revcarol]

12. It's already flowing from one field!!

Shipments of "new" oil have been loaded on ships already.

Remember how Straw talked about this? There would be plenty of money for Iraq rebuilding (you really didn't expect to get any of that oil money, did you, Iraqis?) and British Petroleum was getting too small a share of the spoils. The American were being greedy and taking almost all of the plunder.

This was planned before the war.

This was planned before 9/11.

Hey, gotta get rid of those sanctions by invasion because we had to pay market price for all those millions of barrels under the UN. How can you do a good job looting if you have to pay market price?

We broke it. We've gotta fix it AT OUR TAXPAYERS' EXPENSE.I hate it that Bush did it, but now we've got to fess up and repair and replace what we broke- - EVEN if the UN comes in.The oil DOES belong to the Iraqis.

BUSH HAS MADE THE U. S. RESPONSIBLE.

Kucinich quote: "We broke that country.And now we have an obligation to make that country whole."

Our nation's taxpayers, us, just have to bite the bullet and do what is right and required under international law.

[teryang]

13. I doubt if the country will be made whole

But the money from the mortgage proceeds will go into private pockets. The less they produce at the performance end, the greater the profits.

[Robb]

14. You know,

This move is approaching evil genius level. I couldn't have dreamed this up in years.

Scratch the "genius" part. But what a move... I expect it's too involved for the general public (much less the journalists) here to "get".

[teryang]

15. kick

:kick:

[termo]

16. don't forget to ask Irak to pay for the cluster bombs as well

LOL, it is more and more ridiculous every day !

[jpak]

18. The Junta has mugged I-raq

and all those petrobucks will find their way into the coffers of the GOP.

Democrats should refuse to accept ANY campaign money from these war profiteers...