Apparently We Need to Drive a Wooden Stake Through His Heart

By DHinMI

The reports of his political death appear to have been greatly exaggerated:

Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi has assumed direct control of the powerful oil ministry as crude exports ground to a halt due to sabotage attacks and logistics problems, officials said on Friday.

Chalabi, who has been improving his relations with Washington after falling out with the U.S. administration, was appointed acting oil minister after the incumbent Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum was given leave, the officials said.

Uloum told Reuters he was "intent on resigning". Aides to Chalabi confirmed that he had been appointed acting oil minister.

A ministry spokesman allied to Uloum said the country was facing what he called an impending oil supply crisis. "Production in the north, centre and south is about to suffocate," he said.

I don't know whether Chalabi's failure to win a parliamentary seat means he won't be able to stay in this position once the new parliament is seated.  But for a while at least, it means that Dick Cheney's favorite Iraqi is back at the nexus of official power in Iraq.  Of course this could have important implications for relations between the Iraqi government and the United States, as well as between the Iraqi government and the Western oil companies bidding on contracts to discover, extract or refine oil and repairing and protecting the country's production, storage and shipping infrastructure. 

But since Chalabi has also drawn a lot of attention for his overtures to and dalliances with the Iranians, something else popped into my mind.  This is from a recent U.S. Energy Information Administration report on oil production in Iraq:

In July 2005, Iran and Iraq signed an MOU on a swap agreement involving construction of a 24-mile, 350,000-bbl/d oil pipeline from Basra to the Abadan refinery in southwestern Iran. In exchange, Iran would ship refined products back to Iraq. In addition, Iran could allow Iraq to export crude through the Kharg Island terminal and to import refined products through the Iranian port of Bandar Mahshahr. One potential problem with this deal revolves around the ability of the Abadan refinery to process Basrah Light in significant volumes. Another is the fact that Iran already faces a severe shortfall in its own domestic gasoline supplies, making exports of gasoline problematic.

I can't read about closer integration of Iraqi and Iranian oil policy and not wonder if Ahmed Chalabi is behind it.  And I also can't help but think about the administration's rosy claims about Iraqi energy independence when I read about gas shortages in the country that supposedly has the second or third largest oil reserves in the world.

Comments

[Melanie]

DH,

Email me. If you aren't already booked for New Year's Day, I've got some ideas.

[DemFromCT]

Here's more... much more... on the oil situation.

[em dash]

Interesting stuff, DH.

Something clicked in my head about the similarities of US interference in Iran under the guise of a global war (then WWII) when I read that Chalibi was now heading the Iraqi oil ministry.

Yep, it was all there in Iran with the former Shah:

- CIA-inspired coup to control oil
- overt British/US influence on economic and foreign policy, esp. with Israel
- the Middle East as staging ground to play out East vs West conflicts
- autocratic governance leading to a brutal indifference to justice by a secret police force
- a resurgence of nationalism fueled by religious fundamentalism.

We all know how that turned out for Iran and the West.

[DemFromCT]

saw syriana on DHinMi's suggestion. wow. Fact vs fiction is getting harder to discern.

[Ron Russell]

Chalabi is in place to secure lucrative PSA's for American Corporations. His consoliation prize in loosing the election was to get even wealther! Somehow, I expect the NeoCons had promised him this, in exchange for the bogus info he fed them.

Anyway, PSA's will lock in Iraqi oil at nice rates for American corporations in exchange for Investments that Chalabi will no doubt be a party to. While American Corporations and Chalabi profit, the average Iraqi gets to see their resources plundered.

There will be little to no debate about it in Iraq and it won't be discovered in Iraq, it will be too late and written into their laws. It's another reason why I don't expect the current puppet government of Iraq to survive. There's just too much corruption, in addition to all the Sectarian violence, complicated by incompetence and ideological Bull Shit from Washington.

Chalabi and his croosk already started the justification process to (PSA's) locking in these changes. Have shortages, blame the insurgents and say you need to change the rules and (to quote Jack Cafferty on CNN), "Just Do it". They will say "we have to have foreign investment to increase the flow of oil and bring down the price." The bonus for this is that all foreigner profits will continue to escape untaxed!

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the spread Oil Companies get in Iraqi Oil is going to be anywhere between $10.00 - $15.00 a barrel over and above what it will be elsewhere. Not a bad return rate for other folks money and blood--if you are an oil company executive who invested in the 2004 Stolen Election. No, I didn't say Campaign Contributions because that assumes they gave away something of value and didn't expect a quid pro quo!

If only Mutual Funds paid as well as Investing in the Corrupt Regime that is the Bush Administration and their Cronies!

[DougC]

No wonder Cheney went to Iraq last month after the election, made sure everyone's on the same page that Chalabi was to become oil minister.