While the House just last week voted to lift the ban on off-shore drilling and as gas prices mysteriously rose again just in time for the 4th of July holiday weekend, and with the passing of Ken Lay, I couldn't think of a better time than now to begin the next installment of excerpts from my book.
In May 2002 the construction of an Afghan oil pipeline was finally announced.
In the following year, 2003, the plan was executed:
Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003
Protecting the Development Fund for Iraq and Certain Other Property in Which Iraq Has an Interest By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 5 of the United Nations Participation Act, as amended (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,
I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that the threat of attachment or other judicial process against the Development Fund for Iraq, Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products, and interests therein, and proceeds, obligations, or any financial instruments of any nature whatsoever arising from or related to the sale or marketing thereof, and interests therein, obstructs the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq. This situation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat. I hereby order:
Section 1. Unless licensed or otherwise authorized pursuant to this order, any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process is prohibited, and shall be deemed null and void, with respect to the following:
(a) the Development Fund for Iraq, and
(b) all Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products, and interests therein, and proceeds, obligations, or any financial instruments of any nature whatsoever arising from or related to the sale or marketing thereof, and interests therein, in which any foreign country or a national thereof has any interest, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons.
Sec. 2. (a) As of the effective date of this order, Executive Order 12722 of August 2, 1990, Executive Order 12724 of August 9, 1990, and Executive Order 13290 of March 20, 2003, shall not apply to the property and interests in property described in section 1 of this order.
(b) Nothing in this order is intended to affect the continued effectiveness of any rules, regulations, orders, licenses or other forms of administrative action issued, taken, or continued in effect heretofore or hereafter under Executive Orders 12722, 12724, or 13290, or under the authority of IEEPA or the UNPA, except as hereafter terminated, modified, or suspended by the issuing Federal agency and except as provided in section
2(a) of this order.
Sec. 3. For the purposes of this order:
(d) The term ‘‘Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products’’ means any petroleum, petroleum products, or natural gas originating in Iraq, including any Iraqi-origin oil inventories, wherever located; and
(e) The term ‘‘Development Fund for Iraq’’ means the fund established on or about May 22, 2003, on the books of the Central Bank of Iraq, by the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority responsible for the temporary governance of Iraq and all accounts held for the fund or for the Central Bank of Iraq in the name of the fund.
Sec. 4. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA and the UNPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their statutory authority to carry out the provisions of this order.
(b) Nothing contained in this order shall relieve a person from any requirement to obtain a license or other authorization in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Sec. 5. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right, benefit, or privilege, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by a party against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
Sec. 6. This order shall be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
May 22, 2003
PROFITS
Oil revenues from Iraq in the excess of $25 billion, which Bush claimed belongs to the Iraqi people, haven’t in fact made it to any people of Iraq. Instead the profits went right to the U.S. and British corporations. So how come oil is still so expensive? I guess they’re making their maximum profits while they still can.
In the 2000 election cycle, the oil and gas industry contributed over $26.5 million to Republicans, and over $1.8 million to George W. Bush’s election campaign. 2000 Pioneer and longtime Bush associate Don Evans, former chairman of the oil company Tom Brown Inc., was appointed Secretary of the Commerce Department. At least a dozen other industry officials were named to the transition teams at the Energy and Interior departments as well as the Environmental Protection Agency.
It’s not surprising with the Bush Administration in control that the energy industry has grown and prospered. After all, that’s what they paid the administration to do when they contributed to the Bush/Cheney ticket in 2000. Petroleum is now the biggest industry in the United States raking in a total of $723,846 million in 2004.[i] Gas and Electric utilities came in eighth place taking in an excess of $290,000 million a year. (26) Mining and crude oil production has also shot right to the top of all U.S. industries. Petroleum refining and pipelines have also made their way up the list for most profitable and fastest growing industries and are both at the top of the list for growth in revenues. Exxon-Mobile, based in Irving, Texas, is about to become the largest U.S. corporation thanks to the BAD’s pro-oil & gas and anti-environmental policies. The Texas company posted a record profit of $10.71 billion for one quarter and $36.13 billion for 2005, which is the highest profit of any American company in history. Chevron-Texaco and Conoco-Philips are also now rising in the top ten largest U.S. corporations with their profits increasing in the excess of nearly 60%. The American consumer has been paying record amounts for gasoline and home heating, while Bush’s biggest contributors have been making their biggest profits. How any American can not see how we’ve been hi-jacked by big corporations is beyond me. This is what Mussolini called Corporatism and it is now eating away at the fabric of our American civilization.
Costs of crude oil per barrel have steadily risen since 2001, only dropping slightly just before the Iraq War began before resuming its monstrous climb to the top of the list for highest oil and gas prices in American history. Yet, over $8 billion worth of Iraqi oil sales was still unaccounted for by the CPA according to a 2005 audit conducted by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Let us be reminded of Bush’s 2003 “Operation Iraqi Liberation” or better known as OIL. So far the only ones who have been liberated are the executives in “Big Oil.”
