by Bennett Blumenberg
 This bibliography selects
important articles that are freely available on the Internet, a
requirement to be included in this article. Some of these articles
are news reports without editorial comment. Others are analysis and
comment, the viewpoint of each author is clearly stated. Underlying
this presentation is the assumption that the invasion of Iraq was
an horrific mistake, a cruel, self and other destructive war whose
rationale was cynically based in false intelligence, deliberately
created to mislead the American public, the United States Congress and
designated allies.
This reading material is selected to introduce the history of
British and American oil interest in Mesopotamia, how these
corporations function in terms of business protocols and
legalities. In the case of Iraq, this latter item now has a complex
relationship with current American energy and economic interests
which have been articulated through an aggressive militaristic and
self serving policy since the opening day of the Iraq invasion. It
is no longer debatable that the American invasion of Iraq was
pre-planned, a real war whose rationale was based in lies and
deceit that was set to be activated when the appropriate context
gave the President enough confidence to approach the American
people. 9/11 provided that context.
We know that Iraq under Saddam Hussein had no connection to 9/11, was
a vociferous enemy of Al Qaeda and possessed no weapons of
mass destruction. No matter, the propagandist purpose was served,
the gullible and undereducated American public swallowed the lies.
The ethical, moral and political corruption in Congress that
allowed legislators who knew better to do so, is a stain upon
American political integrity that will take a long time to erase.
This bibliography includes articles that critique the invasion of
Iraq in terms of stage one motivation, evolving articulation and
most recently the troop surge in Baghdad which is the Bush
administration's last attempt to gain control over a chaotic and
lethal landscape. The Iraqi landscape south of Kurdistan is
dominated by killing, as several different tribal and Islamic
groups fight each other wherever possible for revenge over past
political grievances, then also take on Al Qaeda in Iraq whenever
possible, then also to target American troops accurately identified
as carriers of a lethal American policy in Iraq. I will not use the
term 'coalition', there never was a meaningful coalition in
military terms although British efforts in southern Iraq did employ
over 30,000 troops at their apogee. Assessment of the Iraq War is
essential to describe the context in which the oil industry must
function. The prize is great, Iraq's oil reserves are now recognized
to be the second largest in the world after Saudi Arabia. A brief
look at unexplored areas develops the possibility that when
exploration and test drilling is done in those areas, Iraq's total
oil reserves may exceed those of Saudi Arabia and be the largest in
the world.
In the late 1990s when now Vice President Dick Cheney
lead a policy group that designed an invasion of Iraq, he was well
aware that there were no alternative energy technologies that could be
deployed on a nation-wide scale that had industry level capability and
that could also benefit international oil companies. As the leading
economic business and industrial nation in the world, the United States
needs to immediately lock down large and reliable oil reserves. Failure
to do so would put American economic and military domination of the
planet in free fall, catalyzed by a catastrophic drought in energy
supplies and severe economic depression that would quickly spread
world-wide. This of course, is an option that cannot be considered.
Thus is defined a situation of enormous priority and highest national
security importance to the United States.
In the neo-conservative viewpoint, international, collaborative
diplomacy as an approach to forging alliances with oil supplier
countries whose governments and politics do not follow neo-conservative
economic and so-called 'democratic' principles was, and remains, of no
interest. A foreign/energy policy based in an honest, understanding of
mutual interdependency and mutually beneficial economic and business
interests (as opposed to unilateral military intervention and resource
control by seizure and occupation) had, and apparently still does have,
little credibility and was never seriously considered. This issue will
be further explored in the second article of this series that deals
with Iran where several nations have forged peaceful and powerful
relationships with that country's energy industry.
The third module of this bibliography focuses upon money. The cost of
the gratuitous invasion of Iraq is staggering, its effect upon the US
economy is devastating yet barely considered in the American press.
Political and business corruption, lost and stolen funds and oil of
huge proportions, and dictatorial business practices designed to only
benefit the oil industry's largest corporations reads like a small
scale pirate's tale that was blown up to the size of a globe spanning,
science fiction epic. The United States in Iraq is not Pirates of the
Caribbean but the Pirates of Mesopotamia. The wide spread death,
cruelty and suffering engendered makes this a horrifying tale that
calls forth anger, sadness and despair. Johnny Depp would never take
the starring role in this film, I cannot imagine who would. Draconian
approaches by the IMF and American interests are designed emasculate
the Iraqi oil industry and economy, thereby to create a business and
financial structure wherein there is maximum level of control and
profit flowing to the United States and several major international oil
corporations. The Iraqi people in these scenarios become little more
than collateral and unavoidable damage to be immobilized and set aside
as quickly as possible. Witness the battle going on this spring in Iraq
about a new oil industry law that is designed to first and foremost
serve the interests of the United States and several international oil
companies via insidious CPAs.
The troop surge in Baghdad is underway and failing. United States
involvement in Iraq is hopelessly polluted by greed, blind imperial
ambition and a maniacal policy to control Middle East oil resources by
force. The Bush administration with extreme hubris has begun to clone
the insidious process by which false intelligence is once again
created, thereby to possibly justify an attack on Iran. This President,
and his inner circle of 21st century imperialists lead by Vice
President Cheney are on the public record as having no interest in what
last November's elections implied for Iraq policy; nor what several
three and four star generals and former employees of the CIA have
stated about our destructive adventures in Iraq, nor the verdict of the
United Nations and world opinion. Bush, Cheny and their team have
endangered American national security, first and foremost by alienating
a majority of those countries that control the world's oil and gas
resources; set loose the 'dogs of war', and fueled the violent, global
jihad of radical Islam and endangered national security, first and
foremost by alienating those countries that control the world's oil and
gas resources.
Core Bibliography
Background and Foreground
1. Rolling Back the 20th Century by
William Greider;
2. A Journalist Writing Bloody Murder…And
No One Notices by Tom Engelhardt;
3a,b. Is the
Administration’s new policy benefiting our
enemies in the war on terrorism? by Seymour Hersh;
.... Iraq as a Cauldron of State Terrorism
by Michael Schwartz;
4a,b,c. They've helped ruin the country. Meet Dick
Cheney and his staff by Robert Dreyfuss; .... Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich
introduces three articles of impeachment against Vice President
Cheney by Kaveh L Afrasiabi .... Kucinich's Impeachment Train by Dave
Lindorff;
5. Will Iraq Become the Democrat's War?
by David Swanson;
The Iraq War, the Baghdad Surge
6. Behind the Surge: A Democratic Sell-out on
Bush's Mercenaries by Jeremy Scahill;
7. Tick... Tick... in Washington and
Baghdad by Tom Engelhardt;
8. Data Sheet of US-UK Military
Fatalities by Paul de Rooij;
9. A Surge in Iraqi Civilian Deaths by
Tom Clifford;
10a,b. Baghdad up close and personal by Pepe
Escobar .... How the Surge is Failing by Patrick
Coburn;
11. Iraq Dismantled by Patrick
Coburn;
Black Gold in Iraq
... Reserves
12. Dept of Energy Fact Sheet on Iraq
published in 2003 - important data on oil reserves and a realistic
discussion of the security problem for Iraq's oil fields;
13a,b IHS Launches First Detailed Report on
Iraq's Oil Reserves and Production Potential Since Start of Iraq
Conflict ... Business Wire India; .....IHS: Iraq's Oil Production Capacity Could
Double in Near Term ... IHS Inc;
14a,b,c. Iraq's oil production falls short of
goals by Peter Grier; .... How Much Iraqi Crude Oil is Being Stolen?
Mystery of the Missing Meters by Pratap Chatterjee;.... Billions in Oil Missing in Iraq, U.S. Study
Says by James Glanz;
... US Takeover of Iraqi Oil
15a,b. Oil in Iraq: the heart of the Crisis by James A. Paul .... written in 2002; this article is remains
important as it interweaves a corporate history of major oil companies
in Iraq with the motivations behind the Bush/Cheney Iraq War. .... When it comes to oil, the U.S. administration
is bypassing democracy in Iraq by Erik Leaver;.
16a,b,c. Bush's Petro-Cartel Almost Has Iraq's
Oil by Joshua Holland .... Surging toward the holy oil grail by
Pepe Escobar; .... US's Iraq oil grab is a done deal by
Pepe Escobar;
17a,b. The Prize of Iraqi Oil by Michael
Schwartz; .... Iraqi Port Weathers Danish Storm by
Lotte Folke Kaarsholm, Charlotte Aagaard and Osama Al-Habahbeh;
18. What Muqtada wants by Pepe Escobar;
.... Scores of fuel tankers set on fire
... Azzaman;
... The new Iraq Oil Law
19a,b,c. Cabinet Readies Iraqi Oil for
Privatisation .... Platform; ... Ewa Jasiewicz reports from Basra on recent
solidarity visit with the General Union of Oil Employees by Ewa
Jasiewicz; .... Oil workers in Basra are ready to fight
privatisation by Greg Muttitt;
20. Iraqi Oil Workers to Strike Over Privatisation
Law by CarbonWeb;
21a,b,c,d. Iraq's parliament to discuss draft
law .... Reuters; ... Iraqi Blocs Opposed to Draft Oil Bill
by Edward Wong and Sheryl Gay Stolberg; .... Iraqi Oil Ministry Warns Companies Against
Deals Bypassing Central Govt by Hassan Hafidh; .... Iraqi Oil Wealth Stays Locked Up by
Chip Cummins and Hassan Hafidh;
... Kurdistan Black Gold
22a,b. Statement From Minister Of Natural Resources
Kurdistan Regional Government - Iraq .... oilvoice.com; ...
The temperature rises in Kirkuk by
Jason Motlagh;
23a,b. Calibre Energy enters Iraq Kurdistan through
arrangement with Hawler Energy by OilOnline; .... Calibre Waiting on Equipment for Northern Iraq
Well Test by Calibre Energy, Inc;
24a.b.Dana Gas Signs Agreements with Kurdistan
Regional Government of Iraq by OilOnline; .... Dana, Kurdistan Strike Deal to Fast-track Gas
Development by Dana Gas;
25a,b. Iraq Legal Hurdles Delay Norwegian DNO's Oil
Project by Spencer Swartz; .... DNO ASA - update on activities in Kurdistan,
Northern Iraq. by DNO ASA;
26a. Addax, Genel Enerji to Spend $120M on Iraq
Oilfield Plans by Oliver Klaus; ....
... Oil Companies in central and southern
Iraq
27a,b. Oil-rich Basra Splits Between Warring
Shias by Ali al-Fadhily; .... Iraq: INPEX Corp joins Ivanhoe Energy in major
heavy oil field opportunity by OilOnline; ....
28a,b,c. Lukoil: Plans to Begin Developing Iraqi Field
Soon ... Greenwire; .... Iraq: INPEX Corp joins Ivanhoe Energy in major
heavy oil field opportunity by OilOnline; .... Inpex, Ivanhoe Pursue Heavy Oil Opportunity in
Iraq by Ivanhoe Energy Inc; ....
29.. Shell Eyes Developing Iraqi Gas Fields - Iraqi
Officiaby Hassan Hafidh;
Money
30a.b,c. The Democrats' War Funding Debacle by
John V. Walsh .... A Fair and Balanced Look at the Democrats and
War Funding by Pham Binh; .... When Will the War Money Really Run
Out? by Winslow T. Wheeler;
31a,b. Bush Family War Profiteering by
Evelyn Pringle; ....Democratic Blood Money by Joshua
Frank; ....
32a,b.. Playing Monopoly with Iraqi money by
Loretta Napoleoni & Georgia Straight; ..... Playing US Politics with Iraqi Blood for
Oil by Nicola Nassar;
33. Iraq and Afghanistan Supplemental Spending,
2008 by Jeff Leys;
34. US military imperialism exploits defenseless
peoples abroad and the majority of US citizens and their
resources at home, by Ismael Hossein-zadeh;
35. Fixing Iraq by Pratap
Chatterjee;
36a,b,c. The IMF and the Future of Iraq by
Zaid Al-Ali; .... Operation Corporate Freedom: The IMF and World
Bank in Iraq by Basav Sen and Hope Chu; .... Bank and Fund in-roads into Iraq by
Bretton Woods Project;
37. A Unified Security Budget for the United
States, FY 2008, by Miriam Pemberton and Lawrence Korb .
"He who knows the enemy and himself will never in a hundred battles
be at risk." Sun-Tzu.
May 12, 2007.
© Blumenberg Associates LLC 2007.
Updated bibliography -
June 27, 2007 (First reads
should be *articles.)
Background and Foreground
38. Intel
Agencies Warned of Post-War Risks by Jim Lobe.
39. How
Rumsfield Was Suckered by the "Revolution in Military
Affairs" by Andrew Cockburn.
40. So
You Thought the Democrats Would End the War" by
David Vest.
41a,b,c,d. Robert Gates, the new American Secretary of Defense occupies
the most powerful Cabinet position in the United States government. He
will have deep influence upon America's policy towards Iraq. After Rumsfield, a New Dawn ? by Mark Perry .... The Gates Inheritance by Roger
Morris .... The
World that Made Bob {Gates) by Roger Morris. ... . .*The
CIA and the Gates Legacy by Roger Morris.
42. The
second coming of Saladin by Pepe Escobar.
The Iraq War, the Baghdad Surge
43a,b. *Iraq
by the Numbers: Surging Past the Gates of Hell by Tom
Engelhardt. .... *Welcome
to the Summer of Hate by Pepe Escobar.
44a,b,c. Attacks
on US Troops Grow in Lethality and Complexity by Ann Scott
Tyson and John
Ward Anderson .... Madhi
Army Makes Final Push to Control Southwest Baghdad by Leila
Fadel, Sahar
Issa and Mohammed al Dulaimy.... General
Says Just 40 Percent of Baghdad Controlled by Kim Gamel.
Black Gold in Iraq
45a,b,c,d,e. Maps of important Iraqi oil fields
Kirkuk & Rumaylah Fields ....
.... Kormale Dome (Kirkuk Complex) ....
Khurmala-Hamrin-Subba-Luhais Fields
.... Kormor Field .... Kirkuk Field
46a,b. Oil likely to top China-Iraq talks
... Iraq Development Program .... China eyes Iraq's oil
...inforwars.net.
... US Takeover of Iraqi Oil
47. US drilling activity slips
lower...OGJ editors.
... The new Iraq Oil Law
48. Iraq's
Draft Hydrocarbons Law Faces Growing Opposition by Hassan
Hafidh.editors.
... Kurdistan Black Gold
49a,b. Iraqi Federal Govt, Kurds Agree on Sharing Oil
Revenues ... Dow Jones Newswires. ..... Addax Reports Results of Ongoing Appraisal
Drilling in Kurdistan ...Addax Petroleum Corp.
50. DNO ASA Provides Update on Tawke Field
Development in the Kurdistan Region of Northern
Iraq...Oilvoice.
51a,b. The Hidden Hand of Iran in the Resurgence of
Ansar Islam by Lydia Khalil ..... The Kurdistan Brigades: Al-Qaeda's Kurdish
Henchmen by Lydia Khalil.
52. Selling Kirkuk for a mess of potage
...by Ali al-Fadhily.
53. * Turkish
threat echoes across Iraq by Sami Moubayed.
... Oil Companies in central and southern
Iraq
54. Lukoil Optimistic on New Iraqi West Qurna
Deal by Spencer Swartz.
Money
55. *The
Pentagon's Blank Check by Robert Dreyfuss.
56. Wolfowitz has final word on Iraq by
Emad Mekay.
June 27, 2007. © Blumenberg
Associates LLC 2007.
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