PNAC: Rebuilding America's Defenses - A Biopsy on Imperialism; Part II: "Special Interests" - The Persian Gulf

By Sarah Meyer
Index Research

This article originally published 07/03/2006
This article partially updated 03/03/2008.

Oil and Gas Pipelines Persian Gulf
click to enlarge

This US Government 2001 "political" map of The Persian Gulf shows oil pumping stations, refineries, oil terminals, oil and gas pipelines, sea-routes, towns and country capitols in Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and parts of the UAE, Jordan, Turkey and Syria. Also in 2001, the Pentagon document, 'Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts.' gives the names of 30 governments and companies interested in Iraqi oil¹.

... "by 2010 we will need on the order of an additional fifty million barrels a day. So where is the oil going to come from? ... While many regions of the world offer great oil opportunities, the Middle East with two thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies, even though companies are anxious for greater access there, progress continues to be slow." Dick Cheney, then Halliburton CEO, 1999 ²

1. Introduction
2. Rebuilding America's Defenses: "Special Interests"
3. The Persian Gulf: A Region of Vital Importance
4. Petro-dollar warfare with Iraq
5. Crude Designs in Iraq
6. Iran: Imperial Hypocrisy
7. Petro-dollar warfare with Iran
8. Sanctions in Iran?
9. Nuclear war in Iran?
10. Gas in Iran
11. Petro-dollar warfare with Syria?
12. Special interests in Africa
13. Conclusion
14. Appendix I: Bremer's Orders: References
15. Appendix II: Karbuz: US Military Oil Consumption
16. Updates General; Dollar vs Euro; Africa; India; Iraq; Russia; UAE.
17. Appendix 3: Iran: The US/UK Buildup to War?


1. INTRODUCTION
THE United States officially staked its claim to global "pre-eminence"³ in the PNAC document, Rebuilding America's Defenses (pdf), which was published in 2000, i.e., before 9/11.

This Cheney-inspired Wolfovitz / Libby document states its reason for such an imperialist thrust: "special interests." Phrases such as 'US interests', 'global interests', 'long-standing American interests' are also used throughout. What are these "special interests?" The Persian Gulf is often directly referred to within the same sentence. The Gulf Region, a "region of vital importance, is so important to the United States that an 'enduring U.S. security interest' is also imperative. The security interest is, in this document, connected directly to 'commercial interests.'


2. REBUILDING AMERICA'S DEFENSES: "SPECIAL INTERESTS"

"Nearly a decade after the Gulf War, U.S. air, ground and naval forces continue to protect enduring American interests in the region." (p.16)

..."the Pentagon needs to begin to calculate the force necessary to protect, independently, U.S. interests in Europe, East Asia and the Gulf at all times. ...it is more likely that one of these regional powers will seize an opening created by deployments of U.S. forces elsewhere to make mischief." (p. 21)

"...the preponderance of American power is so great and its global interests so wide that it cannot pretend to be indifferent to the political outcome in the Balkans, the Persian Gulf or even when it deploys forces in Africa. (p. 23)

In the Persian Gulf, American forces ..."represent the long-term commitment of the United States and its major allies to a region of vital importance. Indeed, the United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security... the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein." (p. 26)

And even should U.S.-Iranian relations improve, retaining forward-based forces in the region would still be an essential element in U.S. security strategy given the longstanding American interests in the region." (p. 29)

"The Air Force presence in the Gulf region is a vital one for U.S. military strategy, and the United States should consider it a de facto permanent presence." (p. 47)

"Unrestricted use of space has become a major strategic interest of the United States." (p. 66) ..."space is likely to become the new 'international commons', where commercial and security interests are intertwined and related." (p. 67)

"In Europe, the Persian Gulf and East Asia, enduring U.S. security interests argue forcefully for an enduring American military presence." (p. 86)

"Global leadership is not something exercised at our leisure, when the mood strikes us or when our core national security interests are directly threatened; then it is already too late. Rather, it is a choice whether or not to maintain American military pre-eminence, to secure American geopolitical leadership, and to preserve the American peace." (p. 88)


3. THE PERSIAN GULF: A "REGION OF VITAL IMPORTANCE"

The "special interests" in the Persian Gulf are never, in this document, defined as oil or gas. However, little intelligence is needed to make this connection. Oil and gas are the 'special' and 'commercial interests' in the Persian Gulf, to be controlled and owned by American corporate tsars, at whatever cost. Mainstream Media, also controlled and owned by interconnected tsars, myopically focused on the non-existent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as a distraction from these 'special interests.'

'The Whole Truth About the Iraq War' follows the "disturbing anatomy of deliberate deceit" (87 min.) and can be seen here.

Progress report states that "Bush has increased dependence on foreign oil: sixty-six percent of oil consumed in the United States comes from foreign sources, up from 58 percent in 2000. Americans now spend $200,000 a minute on foreign oil, and more than $25 billion annually goes to Persian Gulf states for oil imports." Further, the Bush energy bill "rejected a Senate provision that required reduction of oil consumption by one million barrels per day by 2015."

It is thus not surprising that America's "special interests" have been widely discussed on the Web and in serious publications. The talk of oil was already prevalent prior to the war in Afghanistan⁴ as well the Iraq war. The same issues are now written about as the potential (? nuclear) war in Iran looms before us. Documents have become available, too.⁵

'Geopolitics' is the buzzword, though not actually a word in the Oxford English Dictionary. 'Geo' means earth - so we are talking about the politics of earth. Unfortunately, neither 'special interests' nor 'geopolitics' are concerned with global warming. No, the focus is the US domination of the oil and gas on our earth.

'M. Klare, in The New Geopolitics, wrote (02.06): "By geopolitics or geopolitical competition, I mean the contention between great powers and aspiring great powers for control over territory, resources, and important geographical positions, such as ports and harbors, canals, river systems, oases, and other sources of wealth and influence... The war against Iraq was intended to provide the US with a dominant position in the Persian Gulf."


4. PETRO-DOLLAR WARFARE WITH IRAQ

Iraq has the second highest proven oil reserves in the world - around 112 billion barrels.

The American geopolitical 'special interests' have been disrupted by 'petrodollar warfare.' William R. Clark received two Project Censored awards for his research on the oil currency conflict, and recently published a book, Petrodollar Warfare: Oil, Iraq and the Future of the Dollar⁶. He is the author of an essay 'The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War with Iraq: A Macroeconomic and Geostrategic Analysis of the Unspoken Truth.' This was published in the book, Censored 2004. This pre-war essay "hypothesized that Saddam sealed his fate when he announced in September 2000 that Iraq was no longer going to accept dollars for oil being sold under the UN's oil-for-food program, and switch to the euro as Iraq's oil export transaction currency."

Ingmar Lee, in January '06, wrote, in Beating Around the Bush By the Bourse : "Only the uninformed believed Bush when he said it was WMD's that made him attack, invade, occupy and massacre Iraq. Most of us thought it was to steal Iraq's oil, but we were only partly right. What totally terrorized the tyrannical Texan tycoon was when Saddam played the oil bourse card in November, 2000. When Saddam started selling Iraqi oil in euros, he jeopardized the U.S. dollar's hegemony as the world's supreme foreign exchange transaction currency."

America's war in Iraq erupted on 19 March 2003. On 1 May 2003, an important story, For Free-Market Economy in Iraq, by Neil King, Jr., was published in the Wall Street Journal. "The Bush administration has drafted sweeping plans to remake Iraq's economy in the U.S. image," he announced. "The initial plans are laid out in a confidential 100-page U.S. contracting document titled "Moving The Iraqi Economy From Recovery to Sustainable Growth." It was, King says, drafted with the help of the Treasury Department. Various private contractors⁷ are mentioned: "...the contractors would help support 'private sector involvement in strategic sectors, including privatization, asset sales, concessions, leases and management contracts, especially in the oil and supporting industries.' " Five different reforms to restructure Iraq's economy are given. The AID plan is a "detailed road map" for achieving "American-style free-market (sic) capitalism within the Arab world." The contentiousness of the plan is mentioned because in Europe and the mid-east, there was a widespread belief that the "US invaded Iraq to get hold of its oil." The document's timetable mentions an overall period of four years. Further details in this extraordinary plan are discussed. This document is not available on the Web.

Video: Conspiracies: Iraq. "Simon Reeve investigates the real reasons for the war in Iraq. Starting with oil and the contracts set up between Saddam and non-American/British companies. The latter part of the film looks at the petro-dollar cycle and how OPEC members can threaten US power by using the euro to trade oil - could Iran be next?"


5. CRUDE DESIGNS IN IRAQ

"Iraq to lose up to $194 billion in oil "rip-off." New report reveals corporate oil grab, backed US and UK." Crude Designs by Greg Muttitt, November 2005.

Paul 'Jerry'⁸ Bremer replaced the deposed Jay Garner as "Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian (sic) Assistance. He was the Presidential envoy for the first 'Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority' from 11.05.03 - 28.06.04. He reported only to Rumsfeld. Naomi Klein wrote, in her Harper's study of Iraq, that his first act was to fire "500,000 state workers, most of them soldiers, but also doctors, nurses, teachers, publishers, and printers."

In January '04, A.K. Gupta pointed out that "Paul Bremer and gang have pulled off the biggest heist in history. They and no one else own 100 billion barrels of crude oil--a windfall of at least $3 trillion--along with the entire assets and resources of Iraq. " Halliburton, Bechtel and Fluor received the biggest contracts. Read here about how Bremer proceeded to fulfill the "wildest dreams of every capitalist."

By 28 June 2004, the capitalist system was in place. Greg Palast published, in October 2005, IRAQ: OPEC and the Economic Conquest of Iraq. ⁹ He writes in more detail about the neo-cons' blueprint for oil. This document, he said, was "the brainchild of a platoon of corporate lobbyists." Their manoeuvres are brilliantly described. The plan, he says, was originally drafted before the Iraqi invasion. ¹⁰
Crude Designs - The rip-off of Iraq's Oil Wealth is a report researched and written by Greg Muttitt for PLATFORM,¹¹ published on 18 November 2005. In spite of the Reuters 22.11.05 article Big oil has crude designs on Iraq wealth - report and the vast implications of Crude Designs, the general public has little, if any, awareness of this American imperial oil plan. The issue has, however, been discussed on the Web and in various publications.

Index Research published the following, also on 22 November: This is an extremely important document which discusses the historical background and future for oil in Iraq. The conclusion reached is that "under the influence of the US and the UK, powerful politicians in the Iraqi Oil Ministry are pushing to hand all of Iraq's underdeveloped fields to multinational oil companies, to be developed under Production Sharing Agreements." The date for this plan is in 2006, following the elections. This fixed agreement would be a disaster for Iraq. They would lose revenue, and would be denied "the ability to regulate or plan its oil industry... foreign companies' operations (would be) immune from future legislation. It's time to get this out of the secret elite drawer and into public discussion," writes Mr. Muttitt.

0n 2 December '05, William Bowles, in 'On The Road to Damascus,' asks, "so is it all about oil?" He discusses William Engdahl's book 'A Century of War - Anglo-American oil politics and the New World Order,' relating it to the present small group of wealthy individuals connected to an "equally small group of people who possess enormous political power." He asks: "to what lengths will they go in order to maintain their power?" In this, Bush and Blair are united in their pursuance of 'special interests' as well as punishment of those who protest. Crude Designs describes "the background as well as the context leading up to the invasion and occupation; the key players and their interests and connections as well as supplying a detailed analysis of the effects of the Iraqi 'government' signing away not only its one and only natural resource, oil, but in doing so, also renouncing its sovereignty and democratic control over it."

James Houle, in a dense, concise '05 article, also evaluated the 2002 policy paper, "Moving the Iraqi Economy from Recovery to Sustainable Growth." Glowing White House fantasies and their results are examined, as are the reasons for Garner's rapid demise. "Philip Carole, former CEO of Shell, then took control of Iraq's oil production on behalf of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in April 2005 and immediately stalled the whole sell-off scheme." Carole resigned after 5 months.

Chalabi and corruption then had a field day whilst insurgents increased their activity in oil fields. Rob McKee, Chairman of Enventure, a subsidiary of Halliburton, stepped firmly into the job. He had little tolerance for the neocons' threat to privatize the oil fields, and ordered the new 2003 report (323 pages), "Options for Developing a Long Term Sustainable Iraqi Oil Industry,' overseen by Amy Jaffe and guided by "a handful of oil industry consultants and executives." In June 2005, a Petroleum Law to establish PFA's was drafted, but the new constitution 'waffled' over control of oil resources. Could Kurdistan 'cut their own deals?' A Norwegian Company¹²
begins drilling in the North without approval from Baghdad. After Platform's Crude Designs was published, Houle says that the "current government in Baghdad is most anxious to negotiate PSAs quickly and without public participation or debate and without a legal framework being in place." Observers' fears are understandable. Many questions remain unanswered.

Gilles Munier, on 30 January '06, wrote: "In May 2001, the Energy Policy Development Group headed by Dick Cheney demanded that the "energy security"¹³ be a prime objective of the foreign and trade policy of the Administration. It thus provided a justification in the name of "vital interests" for the forthcoming aggression against Iraq." He discusses the Israeli /US concerns with the Kirkuk pipeline. Not enough attention is being given to this area of oil turmoil - understandable with the Sumarra bombing and chaos in Iraq at present. However, Munier's article needs reading as it brings into focus the 'terrorizing of unwanted populations' in order to secure a pipeline route. If the US succeeds in 'divide and rule,' the new Kurdish State, if it comes into being, will rank 6th in the oil industry." The Syria Destabilization Syndrome is connected to this pipeline problem. "The United States want to have an allied regime in Damascus which will ensure that the Haifa terminal is well provided in "Kurdish" oil." One then has to ask, says Munier, "whether the murder of Rafiq Hariri has something to do with oil?"

Also on January 30th, the Financial Times reported that Lucoil, Russia's biggest oil company, was "on the verge of reopening negotiations with Iraq" for an oil development contract.

Disingenuously¹⁴, a February Yahoo (DoD?) headline reads: US urging Iraq to develop oil "roadmap," whilst the fantasies of Imperial America fall apart - as seen clearly by Ghali Hassan in Iraq: Occupation and Sectarianism

"By now, we should realize that the Bush administration has no plan to govern Iraq nor do they care a whit about the suffering of the Iraqi people. The only thing the matters is the extraction of petroleum from Iraqi oil fields and its unobstructed transfer to the market. The rest is rubbish." Mike Whitney.


6. IMPERIAL HYPOCRISY


Map Major Iranian oilfields (Univ. of Texas)
click to enlarge

If one compares the engineering of the crisis which led to the war of aggression against Iraq with the current engineering of crisis to justify aggression against Iran, one is not likely to identify differences. The lies and the language are the same. The path to peaceful resolution is deliberately replaced by the path to war of aggression. The motive is to manipulate public opinion and justify war of aggression against another Muslim nation. Ghali Hassan.

The American hypocrisy, presently focused mainly on Iran, is grounded in the US endorsement of the Iran Nuclear Program which was initiated during President Ford's administration, reports Ed Haas. Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfovitz held key positions at this time. Read this story here.

Terence Gatt, in November '05, wrote The Enduring Threat, A Brief History. "The American harsh stand reflects a longstanding mutual suspicion that has characterized relations between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Iranian Revolution ...The controversial issue of Iranian ambitions for a civilian nuclear energy project ironically began with the assistance of the United States during the reign of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi ... Iran purchased a research nuclear reactor from the United States that was put into operation in 1967."

In January '06, Paul Rogers wrote in Open Democracy: "The United States and its British ally are planning to modernise their nuclear-weapons arsenal while castigating Iran for its nuclear-power programme." More

Enver Masud said that Israel was not a signatory to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. "... it is no secret that (Israel) has been threatening strikes on Iran's Bushehr nuclear electric power plant - just as it launched an unprovoked and illegal attack on Iraq's Osirak nuclear electric power plant in 1981." AFP announced that Israel Will Not Allow Iran To Obtain WMDs. According to a Times article, Israel's special forces are trying to find Iran's secret enrichment sites. These forces are based inside Iraq, with the approval of Americans. In this same article is a discussion of NATO's possible involvement in a military strike against Iran.

On 24 January, Julian Borger wrote in the Guardian: "George Bush yesterday committed the US to the defence of Israel against threats from Iran, saying he would not allow the world to be 'blackmailed' by an Iranian nuclear weapon."

Bush said, "We're committed to the safety of Israel." So much so that the US is financing Israel's armament industry. Last year, the United States delivered 500 "bunker-busting" bombs to Israel. The conservative total for U.S. aid to Israel is $91b. The world owes Israel $23b, says YnetNews.¹⁵

M La Rosa noted: "At present, there is only one country in the Middle East with "secret" and ambiguous stockpiles of nuclear weapons" in an article entitled The Most Dangerous Double Standard in the Middle East.

An Arab News headline, Astounding Hypocrisy, followed with: "Coming as it did on the eve of his big set piece speech to the American people, the (Palestinian) election was a problem for President Bush. Here was a free and fair democratic election, a model of the political process that he has supposedly committed himself to promoting throughout the region, and it produced winners who were not what Washington would have liked or chosen." Mashal, the Hamas political leader, replied: "The decision of the United States and certain European states to freeze their aid to Palestine, has in a certain sense eased our struggle for statehood." He added: "support for Hamas and the new Palestinian government means contributing to chasing the Americans out of the Middle East." el-Hayat reports that Iran has promised Hamas $250m. "as compensation for the freezing of American aid to the Palestinians."

In January '06, the US tried to blackmail India: "The Americans have warned India that its nuclear deal signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's last trip to Washington will die in Congress if it doesn't back the US on Iran." The US is said to now have a new nuclear agreement with India, which would enable New Delhi to "expand atomic weapons production."¹⁶ WorldWatch, in its report, 'China and India', says that renewable energy sources "would be more practical energy solutions." The report also says: "It's going to be tough to argue that Iran and North Korea should be denied nuclear technology while India--which has failed to even join the Non-Proliferation Treaty--is given the same technology on a silver platter."

The US has nothing against nuclear power. With a new plan called the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership announced with the Fiscal Year 2007 budget earlier this month, Bush said, "Under this partnership, America will work with nations that have advanced civilian nuclear energy programs, such as France, Japan, and Russia."

Nor has Bush criticized China. The commercial satellite photos from 2000 - 2004 provide a new look at China's nuclear forces and bases."

The worst hypocrisy of all was committed on February 23, when the US and the UK conducted a joint subcritical nuclear test at the US test site in Nevada.

On 4 March '06, Walter Pincus reported in the Washington Post: "The Bush administration is developing plans to design and deploy refurbished or replacement warheads for the nuclear stockpile, and by 2030 to modernize the production complex so that, if required, it could produce new generations of weapons with different or modified capabilities."

Video: How the US Learned to Love the Bomb (Again)

"Audacious in its shameless and extreme hypocrisy. The man who has led the world in violence during the first years of the 21st century could pay homage to the world's leading practitioner of nonviolence during the first half of the 20th century". Normon Solomon, Mahatma Bush.


7. PETRO-DOLLAR WARFARE WITH IRAN?

Discussion about the Iranian Bourse has never been Top of The Pops for either the US government or Mainstream Media. Instead, Iran's nuclear energy development leading to future (10 years?) theoretical (only) nuclear bombs in Iran is the Pentagon's propaganda rotating shovel, mirroring Saddam's non-existent WMD fables. Once again, no questions are being asked. Is MSM as guilty of deception as the governments they parrot?

In October '04, William Clarke wrote an article, The Real Reasons Why Iran is the Next Target. "The Iranians are about to commit an "offense" far greater than Saddam Hussein's conversion to the euro of Iraq's oil exports in the fall of 2000" (see above). "Numerous articles have revealed Pentagon planning for operations against Iran as early as 2005. While the publicly stated reasons will be over Iran's nuclear ambitions, there are unspoken macroeconomic drivers explaining the Real Reasons regarding the 2nd stage of petrodollar warfare - Iran's upcoming euro-based oil Bourse."

Clarke wrote a further article in August '05, Petrodollar Warfare: Dollars, Euros and the Upcoming Iranian Oil Bourse Media Monitors. One can hear Mr. Clark's 28 January '06 talk on the petrodollar here

Krassimir Petrov also wrote an outstanding article, The Proposed Iranian Oil Bourse, in January '06. The key Petrov points can be read here.

In January '06, William Bowles forecast: "Iran's euro-denominated oil bourse to open in March; US$ crash imminent!"

Mike Whitney also says that 'Iran's Oil-exchange threatens the Greenback.' "This is why Bush and Co. are planning to lead the nation to war against Iran. It is straightforward defense of the current global system and the continuing dominance of the reserve currency, the dollar."

Other articles on Iran's Bourse are: E. Rutledge, alJazeera (03.11.05) : Iran - a threat to the petrodollar? and Linda Heard (25.01.06) : Iran's new bourse may threaten the dollar

The Iran Oil Bourse is scheduled to open on March 20th, using euro as a trading currency.

Iran cuts foreign dollar assets to 30 percent
18.09.07. dailytimes/ICH. Iran has massively cut down its dependence on the dollar in the face of US pressure over its nuclear programme and now 70 percent of its foreign assets are saved in other currencies or in gold, an official said on Monday.

8. SANCTIONS IN IRAN?

In 1997, the former director of the CIA, and the former US Ambassador to Iran, Richard Helms stated that sanctions had "not changed Iranian behaviour" and that they were "too crude a device for such a complex nation of different groups and languages."

On the 18th of January '06, the Hindustan Times said that Israel, the EU and US were preparing sanctions against Iran. The Israeli defense and civilian agencies' proposals for sanctions, presented to European and American officials, included " an oil embargo, a ban on Iran's football team from participating in this summer's World Cup, a denial of entry visas to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and officials involved in Iran's nuclear programme, a halt to the International Atomic Energy Agency's technical cooperation with Tehran on nuclear issues and a restriction on the country's civilian aircraft landings."

Professor Abbas Edalat is a founding member of the newly formed Campaign against Sanctions and Intervention in Iran (CASMII). He recently traveled to the US and spoke at MIT and San Francisco about war and sanctions and the coming hostilities against Iran.

Hans Blix "thinks the West has not offered Iran enough. Compared to what has been offered to North Korea, U.S. offers to Iran have been 'rather miserable.' "

Meanwhile, Iran and Cuba have signed a banking agreement, expanding cooperation in various commercial, banking, agriculture, health and cultural fields. And China and Iran are near an oil field deal.

What are the hidden stakes in the Iran crisis? Thierry Meyssan writes: "the US have military control of part of the Caspian basin and of a corridor enabling them to link this area with the Indian Ocean (Afghanistan and Pakistan). They have also taken control of the key areas of the Gulf (Saudi Arabia and Iraq). At the end of this operation, Washington should have complete control over the world's main hydrocarbon production and reserves. It will control the world economy without the need to share power."


9. NUCLEAR WAR IN IRAN?

"Apparently, Anglo-Americans are using democracy as a political argument to violently expand their economic global hegemony." Gilad Atzmon.

In May, 2005, Michel Chossudovsky wrote that there was a "Planned US-Israeli Attack on Iran."

William Rivers Pitt stated in January '06 that an attack on Iran was a Looming Folly.

In February '06, Michael Keefer wrote an important analysis, 'Petrodollars and Nuclear Weapons Proliferation: Understanding the Planned Assault on Iran'. Iran, he said, had "been in the gun-sights of George W. Bush and his entourage from the moment that he was parachuted into the presidency in November 2000 by his father's Supreme Court." He references the Israeli Threat Factor, saying that "the United States and Israel ¹⁷ were working out the targeting details of an aerial attack in June '05." He talks about "deliberate arms trafficking with Turkey, whom the US needs to consent to the 'aggression' against Iran." He refers to the Teheran Oil Bourse, which "poses a threat to the status of the U.S. dollar as the principal world reserve currency."

Keefer recommends reading the following: Philip Giraldi, Deep Background, William Arkin, Not Just a Last Resort, and Early Warning.

Two further excellent Chossudovsky articles: Nuclear War against Iran, and The Dangers of a Middle East Nuclear War, in which he talks about those Americans who are convinced that "mini-nukes are safe for the surrounding civilian civilization."

Jorge Hirsh, who discusses the nuclear hit men behind the 'Nuclear Deployment for an Attack on Iran.' Jorge Hirsch has since written another highly referenced, strong article, America and Iran: At the Brink of the Abyss.

At the end of February, Reuters reported that Iran says it has a basic atomic agreement with Russia.


10. IRAN AND GAS

In January '06, the Financial Express reported that India fears Iran may extract a high price for piped gas. In February, the Asia Times noted that India has been pursing discussions about a Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. The United States would prefer Pakistan and India to build a gas pipeline linking them to Turkmenistan - instead of Iran. Will Mushareff, who has been given bases in exchange for F16s, give up this pipeline?

Meanwhile, Iran and Georgia strike a gas deal.

IRANIAN PIPELINE MEANS GAS, NOT GEOPOLITICS TO ARMENIAN TOWN
10.08.07. Joshua Kucera, Eurasianet. ... in this sleepy town of 4,000, that aspect of the pipeline does not register. Meghri may have been the site of a March 2007 pipeline launch ceremony between Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but, to residents, the strategic questions that surround it account for little...
The United States, which has viewed the pipeline with a wary eye, has made little or no impact. The American presence consists primarily of two garbage trucks and 40 dumpsters that the US government has donated to the town, according to Hovanissian.

11. PETRO-DOLLAR WARFARE WITH SYRIA?

In January '06, Dr. Al-Tarb Assad warned: "If America Prevails Over Syria, Other Arab Nations Will Be Next." Angry at Syria for not complying with its demands before the Iraq War, he said, Washington has sought to 'lay siege to, isolate and impose sanctions' on it ever since. Dr. Al-Tarb also made an interesting observation about the murder of PM Hariri.

Aljazeera reported in February that Syria had also now switched to the Euro amid U.S. threats which "would complicate the banking procedures and disrupts cash flow into the country." The state-owned bank will also stop dealing in $s in private clients' international exchange flows. This is Syria's 'pre-emptive' action. The US has retaliated by giving $5m to finance the Syrian opposition (which has been refused) as well as threatening further sanctions, already partially applied in May 2004.

Paul Craig Roberts writes in Counterpunch: "Secretary of state Condi Rice wants to spend $85 million interfering in the internal affairs of Iran and $5m 'to accelerate the work of reformers' in Syria. What better way to solidify the Iranian and Syrian governments? Both countries are under threat of attack by the Bush regime. Any Iranian or Syrian who accepted American money to work against their own government would be guilty of high treason. With her announcements, Condi Rice has destroyed any opposition that might have existed in either country."

Congressman Ron Paul (R-Tex) says it is The End of Dollar Hegemony. "A hundred years ago it was called 'dollar diplomacy.' After World War II, and especially after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, that policy evolved into 'dollar hegemony.' But after all these many years of great success, our dollar dominance is coming to an end ... The US dollar (is), of course, just a lousy piece of paper backed up by police power."


12. SPECIAL INTERESTS IN AFRICA¹⁸

One only has to follow the visits of Donald Rumsfeld, Condi Rice and recently, President Bush, to instantly understand what is next on the American Imperial Design agenda. African oil, says John Lasker, "accounts for 12 percent of the United States' total yearly consumption. During the next 10 to 15 years, the amount is projected to jump to 25 percent."

Rumsfeld visited Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. Tom Porteous, in Pet Tyrants, writes that in North Africa the 'War on Terror' has been used "as a pretext to justify canceling elections, neutering opposition, locking up political opponents, closing down political debate, and securing Western economic and military assistance." Porteous concludes: "These countries provide a model of the kind of state the U.S. administration would like to see other Muslim countries transformed into: tightly controlled, pro-American bastions in the struggle against violent Islamic extremism."

Oil Wars Are Coming to Africa, announces a story headline. The "U.S. military involvement in East Africa is on the rise, a disturbing sign that Africa's strategic importance is being redefined on the basis of what resources can be exploited from it."

Mike Whitney says Sudan ¹⁹ "knows exactly what to expect from an American-led 'peacekeeping team.' The capital, Khartoum, will be secured as will the oil and natural gas reserves, while Darfur will face persistent fly-overs with laser-guided munitions directed at errant wedding parties or civilian enclaves. (aka; Al Qaida "safe-houses")."


13. CONCLUSION

"Perhaps the day will come when the United States is no longer addicted to imported oil; but that day is still many years off. For now, the reason for America's rapt attention to the security of the Persian Gulf is what it has always been. It's about the oil." Ted Koppel. The New York Times, 24.02.06.

Sohbet Karbuz has produced a report (see Appendix II) in which he says that "the US Department of Defense (DoD) is the largest oil consuming government body in the US and in the world." To become less addicted to oil, and thus pursing 'special, commercial, strategic' interests in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere, the United States has first to become less addicted to its own Department of Defense.


14. APPENDIX ONE
BREMER'S ORDERS REFERENCES
"Never again should the Iraqi people's wealth be squandered on palaces ²⁰ and Ferraris. Never again should such corruption ²¹ be allowed to take root...." 'Coalition' Provisional Authority Announcement

A full list of Bremer's Orders (Laws) from the Coalition Provisional Authority. The "Orders" are "binding instructions or directives to the Iraqi people that create penal consequences or have a direct bearing on the way Iraqis are regulated, including changes to Iraqi law."

Antonia Juhasz, Left Turn Magazine, 20.01.04. A general discussion of Bremer's Orders, and specifically Order No. 12 (Trade Liberalisation Policy); Order No. 37 (Taxes); Order No. 39 (Foreign Investment); No. 40 (Banking).

Greg Palast, 'The Economic Conquest of Iraq: Adventure Capitalism,' 29.10.04, on Orders 12, 37, 81 and 83.

Order 81 is a carte blanche for genetically modified seeds, and especially for Monsanto. ²²

See: Ghali Hassan, Biopiracy and GMOs: The Fate of Iraq's Agriculture, 12.12.05. Discussion of the history of agriculture in Iraq, and the implications of Order No. 81.

Monsanto in Mesopotamia and Iraq's new patent law: A declaration of war against farmers

"While biotech crops fail farmers, and destroy biodiversity the "global" studies of biotech lobbyists continue to cook up benefits to farmers and the environment." Dr. Vandana Shiva

15. APPENDIX 2

US MILITARY OIL CONSUMPTION
by
Sohbet Karbuz ²³

The US Department of Defense (DoD) is the largest oil consuming government body in the US and in the world.

"Military fuel consumption makes the Department of Defense the single largest consumer of petroleum in the U.S." [1]

"Military fuel consumption for aircraft, ships, ground vehicles and facilities makes the DoD the single largest consumer of petroleum in the U.S." [2]

According to the US Defense Energy Support Center Fact Book 2004, in Fiscal Year 2004, the US military fuel consumption increased to 144 million barrels. This is about 40 million barrels more than the average peacetime military usage.

By the way, 144 million barrels makes 395 000 barrels per day, almost as much as daily energy consumption of Greece.

The US military is the biggest purchaser of oil in the world.

In the 1999 Almanac edition of the Defense Logistic Agency's news magazine Dimensions it was stated that the DESC "purchases more light refined petroleum product than any other single organization or country in the world. With a $3.5 billion annual budget, DESC procures nearly 100 million barrels of petroleum products each year. That's enough fuel for 1,000 cars to drive around the world 4,620 times."

That budget increased a lot over the years. The US DoD spent $8.2 billion on energy in fiscal year 2004.

"In fiscal 2005, DESC will buy about 128 million barrels of fuel at a cost of $8.5 billion, and Jet fuel constitutes nearly 70 percent of DoD's petroleum product purchases." says American Forces Information Service News Article by G. J. Gilmore. [3]

For some, this is not enough though. Here is what a report from Office of Under Secretary of Defense says "Because DOD's consumption of oil represents the highest priority of all uses, there will be no fundamental limits to DOD's fuel supply for many, many decades." [4]

American GI is the most energy-consuming soldier ever seen on the field of war.

"The Army calculated that it would burn 40 million gallons of fuel in three weeks of combat in Iraq, an amount equivalent to the gasoline consumed by all Allied armies combined during the four years of World War I." [1]

In May 2005 issue of The Atlantic Monthly, Robert Bryce gives another example; "The Third Army (of General Petton) had about 400,000 men and used about 400,000 gallons of gasoline a day. Today the Pentagon has about a third that number of troops in Iraq yet they use more than four times as much fuel."

The US military oil consumption overseas and the world oil demand.

According to the Defence Logistic Agency's Web Site, as of November 2005 more than 2.1 billion gallons of fuel have been used in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (since October 2001; war on terrorism in Afghanistan).

In the May 2005 issue of the Atlantic Monthly article Robert Bryce says that "The U.S. military now uses about 1.7 million gallons of fuel a day in Iraq. ... each of the 150,000 soldiers on the ground consumes roughly nine gallons of fuel a day. And that figure has been rising." This mean in Iraq each day 40 000 b/d of oil is consumed by the US military.

Yes, something is wrong with that figure. Compare it with the one given by the Defense Logistics Agency spokeswoman Lana Hampton. According to an American Forces Information Service News Article she said the U.S. military is using between 10 million and 11 million barrels of fuel each month to sustain operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. This makes 330 000 - 360 000 barrel per day.

This is more than double the amount of oil used in the Gulf war!

According to a Rand Corporation report "1.88 billion gallons of fuel were consumed within the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (ODS/S), between August 10, 1990 and May 31, 1991." [5]. This makes 44.8 million barrels, or 150 000 barrels a day. Note that ODS/S lasted 295 days.

Moreover, "during ODS/S Saudi Arabia and the UAE supplied fuels without charge (1.5 billion gallons), whereas Bahrain, Egypt, Oman and Qatar charged for the fuels," adds the Rand report.

Did Saudi Arabia and the UAE report that fuel as export? Did the US report it as import? Was it counted as Saudi or UAE domestic consumption? Or was it counted as the US consumption?

I am afraid the answers to those four questions are No, No, No and No!

But that amount was surely counted in production.

My experience with international oil statistics tells me that the US military oil consumption overseas disappears in world oil demand. Hence, demand is understated at least that much.

Is about 350 000 barrels per day missing oil demand important?

Sources cited:
[1] Presentation by American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Red Cavaney held at the USAF/API Awards Banquet - Arlington, Virginia, July 15, 2004. See also National Defense Magazine article in 2002.
[2] E. C. Aldbridge and D. M. Etter testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on June 5, 2001.
[3] American Forces Information Service News Article by G. J. Gilmore, DoD Has Enough Petroleum Products for Anti-Terror War, August 11, 2005. The article is posted also on DC military
[4] More Capable Warfighting Through Reduced Fuel Burden, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, The Defense Science Board Task Force on Improving Fuel Efficiency of Weapons Platforms, January 2001,
[5] J.P. Stucker, J.F. Schank and B. Dombey-Moore, Assessment of DoD Fuel Standardisation Policies, Rand Corporation, 1994.


Footnotes
[1] Companies operating in Iran and Persian Gulf
[2] Full speech has been removed from the London Institute of Petroleum website; now found at http://www.energybulletin.net/559.html.
[3] See PNAC, Part I, Operation Imperialism,: The Enduring Mission.
[4] See - 400 Index on Afghanistan
[5] See Key Documents, After Downing Street.org
[6] Clark, William, Petrodollar Warfare: Oil, Iraq and the Future of the Dollar, New Society Publishers, 2005.
[7] Full list of contractors in Iraq here and updates to May 2004 here
[8] After St. Jerome. Called "New Canaan's Pontius Pilot" by William Collins
[9] Palast article originally in Harpers, October 24 2005
[10] See Last Throes of Credibility: Five Years of Lies and Deception
[11] with Global Policy Forum, Institute for Policy Studies (New Internationalism Project), New Economics Foundation and Oil Change International and War on Want.
[12] Norwegian Bourse Director wants oil bourse - priced in euros
[13] Munier's italics
[14] OED: "morally fraudulent"
[15] In 2003, the UK government issued licences for sales of military goods to Israel worth in excess of £11.5 million, in addition to open licences whose value is not available. For 2005 CAAT report, see: Arms Exports and Collaborations: the UK and Israel (pdf)
[16] Bolton said "the way India and Pakistan had obtained nuclear arms was legitimate."
[17] See Israel and weapons of mass destruction
[18] North Africa Map (PDF)
[19] oil pipeline map, Sudan
[20] The cost of the US Embassy in the Green Zone is estimated at $592m
[21] US corruption has been much reported. See, eg., Where Has All the Money Gone? by Ed Harriman, 07.07.05.
[22]Mr. Bush's March '06 trip to India produced the Indo-US "Knowledge Initiative," promising a "Green Revolution." This is a typical 'takeover' of definition. The genetically modified plant technology is owned privately by corporations such as Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, CropScience, DuPont, Dow and BASF Plant Science. Their purpose is to produce sterile seeds whose patents ensure that farmers no longer have control over their own seeds. It would appear that the 'special interests' of the US include not only energy resources but also seed resources of the planet. For further info on GM in India, see: http://www.gmwatch.org
[23] Sohbet Karbuz (a Turkish citizen) is former head of non-OECD energy statistics section of the International Energy Agency (Paris). Before joining the IEA he held academic positions in Germany and Austria.

+

Updates: General; Dollar vs Euro; Africa; India; Iraq; Russia; UAE.

"It has nothing to do with oil, literally nothing to do with oil."D. Rumsfeld (11.02)

General

Middle East At A Crossroads
04.08.06.R. Heinberg, Energy Bulletin / ICH. It is important to remember that, historically, the drawing of borders in the Middle East; the establishment of British, French, and later US-backed puppet governments in these faux nations; and the rise of a radical Islamic fundamentalist movement to challenge the Western-backed regimes, have all been fueled by the wealth produced by oil, and by the need for oil on the part of importing countries.

Spiraling US Federal Debt Triggers Decline of Dollar
11.07.07. Ellen Hodgson Brown, global research. A Non-Inflationary Solution to the Federal Debt Crisis. 'The U.S. federal debt has reached crisis proportions, approaching $9 trillion in 2007. U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker has warned that just the interest on the debt will soon be more than the taxpayers can afford to pay. He observed in 2003: We cannot simply grow our way out of [the national debt]. . . . The ultimate alternatives to definitive and timely action are not only unattractive, they are arguably infeasible. Specifically, raising taxes to levels far in excess of what the American people have ever supported before, cutting total spending by unthinkable amounts, or further mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren to an extent that our economy, our competitive posture and the quality of life for Americans would be seriously threatened.1 Nearly half the public portion of the federal debt is now owed to foreigners, and they are pulling out of dollars into other currencies as the dollar shrinks in value. Oil-producing countries are also moving to other currencies for their oil trades, removing a major incentive for foreign central banks to hold U.S. government bonds.

Tomgram: Michael Klare, Tough Oil on Tap
16.08.07. Tomgram / Michael Klare. The New Energy Pessimism; On Tap: The Tough-Oil Era ; A Demanding World ; The Missing Trillions.

Nine Ways to Profit From the Diving Dollar
21.11.07. Martin Hutchinson, money morning / ICH. Let me put it bluntly: The U.S. dollar is nose-diving against foreign currencies. So far, it's down 12% against the euro, 7% to the yen, 8% to the pound, 15% to the Canadian dollar, and 10% to the Swiss frank. And that's just in the past year alone.

Russia may dump weakening US dollar in its energy deals
15.12.07. dailytimes.com.pk. It seems that the rejection of the US dollar has become a fashion trend in modern-day business relations. Several major oil and gas exporters have recently announced their plans to use a different currency in their deals with other countries. The heads of Iran, Venezuela and Ecuador expressed such an opinion at the OPEC summit in November. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad particularly stated that Iran needs to replace the dollar because of its ongoing setback. His Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, expanded on the idea and put forward a suggestion to change the dollar for the basket of currencies (apart from the dollar it includes the euro, the British pound, the Japanese yen, the Chinese yuan and the Venezuelan bolivar) to recalculated world prices on oil. Ahmadinejad continued with an idea to set up the OPEC Oil Exchange and the OPEC Bank.

U.S. Dollar's Credibility Being `Stretched,' UBS Economist Says
18.12.07. Bloomberg / ICH. The U.S. dollar's credibility as the world's benchmark currency will be put to the test as it loses value against other major currencies, said George Magnus, senior economic adviser at UBS Investment Bank in London.

Fatwa Against The Dollar?
19.12.07. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph / ICH. To all intents and purposes, the Wahabi religious establishment of Saudi Arabia has just issued a fatwa against the US dollar. This bears watching.

Could OPEC drop dollar for euro?
19.12.07. Rania El Gamal, Kuwait Times / ICH. The depreciating US currency worries oil exporting countries as it means a reduction in the value of their dollar reserves and a loss in revenues with the spiraling oil prices. So could Iran's decision signal a trend for other oil producing countries to follow?


The Dollar vs. the Euro

US controls price of crude oil
18.09.06. English People.

Euro Displaces Dollar in Bond Markets
14.01.07. Oakley / Tett, Financial Times.

Euro May Rise 12 Percent Against Dollar, HSBC Says
22.01.07. Bloomberg.


Greenspan: Euro Gains As Reserve Choice
17.09.07. AP / ICH. Former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said it is possible that the euro could replace the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency of choice.

Dollar plunges through $1.40 against euro
20.08.07. FT. The dollar dropped to record lows through the $1.40 level against the euro on Thursday as the US currency continued its slide following the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates earlier in the week. … Some analysts put the dollar’s weakness down to speculation that Saudi Arabia was set to abandon its peg against the US dollar.


Africa

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20070103&articleId=4342
06.01.01 / 03.01.07. Kalif, Global Research. THE OIL FACTOR IN SOMALIA; FOUR AMERICAN PETROLEUM GIANTS HAD AGREEMENTS WITH THE AFRICAN NATION BEFORE ITS CIVIL WAR BEGAN. THEY COULD REAP BIG REWARDS IF PEACE IS RESTORED. Far beneath the surface of the tragic drama of Somalia, four major U.S. oil companies are quietly sitting on a prospective fortune in exclusive concessions to explore and exploit tens of millions of acres of the Somali countryside.

Oil, Not Terrorists, the Reason for US Attack on Somalia
22.01.07. Wanjohi Kabukuru, ICHblog. Just why did the US attack Somalia two weeks ago? Of course, the answer given for the US military intervention and the generally accepted notion is the hunt for terrorists. But is it? Are terrorists the only bone of contention the US has with Somalia? When the US military devised “Operation Restore Hope” in 1993 which was short-lived after they were whipsawed by rag-tag militia in and around Mogadishu, were they fighting the ‘war on terror’?

India

America's dirty secret: India becomes the gasoline gusher
11.10.06. Guardian. Subcontinent to fill the petrol production gap in the United States and Europe.

Talks on Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline Jan 20: oil secretary
16.01.07. Tehran times. India, Pakistan and Iran will hold discussions over this coming weekend on a proposed gas pipeline connecting the three countries, ...

Iran

Euro Faces Huge Change If Others Follow Iran, Says UBS's Baweja
06.12.06. Bloomberg.

Iran to replace dollar with euro
18.12.06. jazeeranet.

Iran turns from dollar to euro in oil sales
22.12.06. Times on Line.

U.N. votes for trade sanctions on Iran's “nuclear” work
23.12.06. Reuters. Nuclear - or Iran euro for oil’ revenge?

Iran demands Japan's oil payments in yen, not US dollars
13.07.07. global Research.

Iran steps up petro-dollar war with U.S.
02.08.07. WND.com. Pressures falling greenback by demanding Japan buy oil in yen

Analysis: Iran moves to ditch U.S. dollar
10.09.07. UPI. Faced with U.S. economic sanctions and a weak dollar, Tehran is demanding foreign energy companies do business in yen and euros, despite increasingly desperate need for investment.

Bush's bid to punish Iranian banks stalls
18.12.07. IHT / ICH. The Bush administration's new policy of penalizing Iranian banks is facing a critical challenge as financial institutions in Russia, China and much of the Middle East decline to cut ties, analysts and diplomats say.

OPEC considers dumping US dollar
15.02.08. presstv.ir. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries plans to discuss a proposal by Iran and Venezuela to price oil in non-dollar currencies.

Iran Oil Bourse may use Russian ruble
15.02.08. breitbart. The Russian national currency, ruble, is an option for dealings at the Iran Oil Bourse, set to be launched soon, an Iranian official says.

The fall of the Dollar Empire
15.02.08. presstv.ir / ICH. The following is an interview with Hamid Varzi an economist and banker based in Tehran about the US economic crisis

Iran launches oil products bourse with petrochemical deal
17.02.08. irna / AP/ICH. The first phase of Iran's oil stock market started its work on Kish island in the Persian Gulf, southern Iran, on Sunday presenting oil and petrochemical products.

Iran shifts oil sales away from dollar
01.03.08. presstv.ir. Deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Company for international affairs says Iran has completely dropped dollar in its oil sales. In an interview with The Financial Times, Hojjatollah Ghanimifard said that over the past three months, Iran has received 75 percent of the proceeds from its oil sales in euros and the remaining 25 percent in the Japanese currency, yen.
same day, headline:
'Stop exporting terror,' Bush tells Ahmadinejad (01.03.08, yahoo news)

Resource material on buildup to WAR IN IRAN:
IRAN WAR: RESOURCE INFO
25.01.07. Sarah Meyer, Index Research

Iraq

Why Bush Lies About Iraq
02.02.03. John Pilger, ICH. ‘US President George Bush's plans to invade Iraq have nothing to do eliminating “weapons of mass destruction”, preventing terrorism or ending human rights abuses. An attack on Iraq will be the first phase of a pre-existing strategy to increase US control of the world's oil supplies.’

International oil firms ready to invest in Iraq: minister
30.07.06. AFP/Khaleez Times … “Shahristani also described a pair of laws that were now before parliament to boost the sector, including the long-awaited Iraqi investment law. "This law will allow the domestic and international private sector to invest in all fields of oil production, except for exploration and drilling for crude oil," he said. "These areas are reserved for the Iraqi state." He added that the private sector could be involved in downstream activities such as refineries and distribution of refined products, as well as petrochemicals.”

Oil majors maneuver for prime position in Iraq
23.08.06. Reuters. The world's top oil companies are maneuvering intently to win a stake in their oilfield of choice when Iraq finally opens to multibillion dollar investment.

Iraq to up fuel imports for 2006
05.09.06. BBC.

Bush's Petro-Cartel Almost Has Iraq's Oil
17.10.06. J. Holland, Alternet / ICH. Part I: Even as Iraq verges on splintering into a sectarian civil war, four big oil companies (Exxon-Mobile and Chevron, the British BP-Amoco and Royal Dutch-Shell) are on the verge of locking up its massive, profitable reserves, known to everyone in the petroleum industry as "the prize."
Part II:
The Bush administration has co-opted the compassionate language of debt relief to ensure that Big Oil gets its way in Iraq.

IRAQ: WHAT DOES ‘JOB DONE’ MEAN?
19.10.06. Sarah Meyer, Index Research. The soldiers will be positioned at a base in Basra ready to act to "protect the investment" made by US and British forces in the country, it was disclosed.” WHAT ‘investment’? It is important to read Mr. Holland’s well researched article (16.10)1, Bush's Petro-Cartel Almost Has Iraq's Oil

Bush: U.S. Must Stay In Iraq To Control Oil And Protect Israel
02.11.06. Raw Story. ‘US President George Bush expressed deep concerns about the possibility of the United States leaving the Middle East, raising fears that extremists could topple governments to "control oil resources.’

Bush Says U.S. Pullout Would Let Iraq Radicals Use Oil as a Weapon
05.11.06. P. Baker, Washington Post. “During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, President Bush and his aides sternly dismissed suggestions that the war was all about oil. "Nonsense," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld declared. "This is not about that," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. Now, more than 3 1/2 years later, someone else is asserting that the war is about oil -- President Bush. … The slogan of "no blood for oil" became a rallying cry for antiwar activists prior to the March 2003 invasion and angered administration officials. "There are certain things like that, myths, that are floating around," Rumsfeld told Steve Kroft of CBS Radio in November 2002. "It has nothing to do with oil, literally nothing to do with oil."

Oil for Sale: Iraq Study Group Recommends Privatization
07.12.06. A. Jusasz, Alternet . ICH. This past July, U.S. Energy Secretary Bodman announced in Baghdad that senior U.S. oil company executives would not enter Iraq without passage of the new law. Petroleum Economist magazine later reported that U.S. oil companies put passage of the oil law before security concerns as the deciding factor over their entry into Iraq. Put simply, the oil companies are trying to get what they were denied before the war or at anytime in modern Iraqi history: access to Iraq's oil under the ground. They are also trying to get the best deal possible out of a war-ravaged and occupied nation. However, waiting for the law's passage and the need to guarantee security of U.S. firms once they get to work, may well be a key factor driving the one proposal by the Iraq Study Group that has received great media attention: extending the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq at least until 2008.

As the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group are more thoroughly considered, we should remain ever vigilant and wary of corporate war profiteers in pragmatist's clothing.

The Oil Factor in the Iraq Study Group (Interview)
13.12.06. An very important informative interview with world-renown journalist, Dahr Jamail.

Israel seeks pipeline for Iraqi oil
20.04.06. E. Vuillamy, Guardian.

Will Iraq’s Oil Blessing Become a Curse?
22.12.06. J. Gallu, Der Spiegel.

Future of Iraq: The spoils of war
07.01.07. D. Fortson, Independent. 'Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days. The US government has been involved in drawing up the law, a draft of which has been seen by The Independent on Sunday. It would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972.'

Blood and oil: How the West will profit from Iraq's most precious commodity
07.01.07. Independent. The 'IoS' today reveals a draft for a new law that would give Western oil companies a massive share in the third largest reserves in the world. To the victors, the oil? That is how some experts view this unprecedented arrangement with a major Middle East oil producer that guarantees investors huge profits for the next 30 years

Western companies may get 75% of Iraqi oil profits
08.01.07. Dow Jones Newswires.

Shock and oil: Iraq's billions & the White House connection
14.01.07. S. Foley, Independent. "The American company appointed to advise the US government on the economic reconstruction of Iraq has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars into Republican Party coffers and has admitted that its own finances are in chaos because of accounting errors and bad management. BearingPoint is fighting to restore its reputation in the US after falling more than a year behind in reporting its own financial results, prompting legal actions from its creditors and shareholders. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, BearingPoint employees gave $117,000 (£60,000) to the 2000 and 2004 Bush election campaigns, more than any other Iraq contractor. ... BearingPoint is being paid $240m for its work in Iraq, winning an initial contract from the US Agency for International Development (USAid) within weeks of the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. It was charged with supporting the then Coalition Provisional Authority to introduce policies "which are designed to create a competitive private sector". Its role is to examine laws, regulations and institutions that regulate trade, commerce and investment, and to advise ministries and the central bank."
"
Iraq – Syria Pipeline Talks Increase
18.01.07. Earthtimes.

Iraq readies law aimed to draw investors
18.01.07. the State. Iraq's long-awaited hydrocarbons law, which could attract huge investments from foreign oil companies, has been drafted and will be submitted to the Cabinet for endorsement next week, the Oil Ministry said Thursday. Once the draft law is endorsed by the Cabinet, it will go to the parliament for final approval, said ministry spokesman Assem Jihad.

Iraq's controversial hydrocarbons law ready to be submitted for approval, oil ministry spokesman says
18.01.07. AP/IHT.

It's Still About The Oil
19.01.07. A. Juhasz, Tom Paine. For more than four years, the Bush administration and its oil company cohorts have worked toward the passage of a new oil law for Iraq that would turn its nationalized oil system over to private foreign corporate control. On Thursday, January 18, this dream came one step closer to reality when an Iraqi negotiating committee of "national and regional leaders" approved a new hydrocarbon law. The committee chair, Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, told Reuters that the draft will go to the Iraqi cabinet next week and, if approved, to the parliament immediately thereafter.

Iraq to Export 100,000 bpd of Basra Crude to Iran
18.08.07. Jamejamonline, uruknet. Iraq’s Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani told a news conference in Baghdad Thursday Iraq will start exporting some 100,000 barrels a day of its Basra Light crude oil to Iran in accordance with a deal signed recently in Tehran, according to SHANA.

The Iraq Oil Crunch: Index Timeline
09.02.07. Sarah Meyer, Index Research. The US government has relentlessly followed its oil plan in Iraq. Following is an index of articles for those interested in the historical ‘progress’ of American imperialism in Iraq.


Russia

Putin Fights Back
08.10.06. M. Whitney, ICH. “The Bush administration’s long-range objectives are already clear. They aim to privatize the Russian oil industry, convert the ruble to the dollar, remove Putin from office, and prevent Russia from controlling the huge oil reserves in the Caspian Basin.”

Turkey

Turkey plans to extend gas, oil and water pipelines to Israel
16.01.07. AP/Haaretz. Under the project, a pipeline already carrying Russian natural gas to Turkey will be extended to deliver supplies to Israel, the ministry said.


UAE

UAE Next to Diversify Away From U.S. Dollar
27.12.06. J. Nones, Resource Investor. ‘United Arab Emirates (UAE) Central Bank Governor Sultan Bin Nasser al-Suwaidi announced today that the UAE will switch 8% of its foreign-exchange reserves from U.S. dollars into euros before September. Now China, Russia, Italy Switzerland, Sweden, Qatar, New Zealand and UAE are all diversifying away from the dollar.’


U.S.A.

Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports to the USA -Top 15 Countries
14.08.06. AZTLAN.

APPENDIX 3: IRAN: THE US/UK BUILDUP TO WAR

The Iran Plans
04.08.05. Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker. "The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack."

Target Iran
21.12. Scott Ritter / Seymour Hersh, Democracy Now broadcast, 50 min. The aircraft carrier Eisenhower and its strike group entered the Persian Gulf on Dec. 11. Another aircraft carrier, the Stennis, is expected to depart for the Gulf within the next month. The military said it is also taking steps to prevent Iran from blocking oil shipments from the Gulf.

Distracting Congress from the Real War Plan
10.01.07. Paul Craig Roberts, ICH. The US Congress and media are focused on President Bush’s proposal for an increase of 20,000 US troops in Iraq, while Israel and its American neoconservative allies prepare an assault on Iran. … The Bush administration has recently doubled its aircraft carrier forces and air power in the Persian Gulf. According to credible news reports, the Israeli air force has been making practice runs in preparation for an attack on Iran.

The Coming Wars
17.01.07. Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker. 'The Bush Administration is looking at this as a huge war zone," the former high-level intelligence official told me. "Next, we're going to have the Iranian campaign. We've declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy. This is the last hurrah-we've got four years, and want to come out of this saying we won the war on terrorism." '

The Unthinkable: The US- Israeli Nuclear War on Iran
21.01.07. M. Chussodovsky, Global Resarch. Selected Global Research Articles

Iraq's controversial hydrocarbons law ready to be submitted for approval, oil ministry spokesman says
18.01.07. AP/IHT.

IRAN / IRAQ

PNAC: Rebuilding America's Defenses - A Biopsy on Imperialism; Part II: "Special Interests" - The Persian Gulf

UPDATE 1-Iraq, Iran to sign deal on shared oilfield-Shahristani
12.09.06. Reuters.

Top Iraqi condemns US over Iran
17.01.07. BBC.

Iran offers to train Iraqi troops
18.01.07. AFP / uruknet. Iran says it is ready to help train and equip Iraqi security forces to combat what it calls terrorism.

Speaking after talks with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Iranian ambassador Hassan Kazemi has demanded to be shown "any shred of evidence that Iran is working to destabilise Iraq," as the US alleges.

"We are working for, not against, security in Iraq, because we know that insecurity justifies maintaining foreign troops in the country," he said.

"Iran is disposed to helping to train and equip Iraqi security forces to combat terrorism."

Video. BBC Report: Cheney Rejected Iran's 'Help.' 1 min.37.
17.01.07. BBC, Newsnight. Newsnight has uncovered an extraordinary letter written after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 where Tehran offers to withdraw military backing for Hamas and Hezbollah as well as give open access to their nuclear facilities, but Vice-President Dick Cheney's office rejected the plan, the official said.

US cautions India against Iran pipeline
27.10.07, peninsulaqatar. The US is hoping that India would not move forward with the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project as Washington has imposed more sanctions on Tehran [ and threatened war ] citing links to terrorism and weapons proliferation. ... “We think at a time when the world should be imposing greater discipline on its interactions with (Iranian) companies and financial institutions and the Iranian government more broadly, that this is not the right path forward.” David McCormick, treasury undersecretary for international affairs, said.

MARCH 2008

Spanner in US Oil Plans? West seeks pretexts to use against Iran-Ahmadinejad 02.03.08. Reuters / wiredispatch. ranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in remarks published on Sunday that some Western countries were using Iran's nuclear activity as a pretext to pressure his country. EXTRA: Iraqis will foil US plans in region, says Ahmadinejad 02.03.08. dpa / wiredispatch. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday in Baghdad that the Iraqi people would eventually foil the United States political plans in the Persian Gulf region. Iran leader's Iraq visit eclipses US, Arab ties 02.03.08. Reuters / wiredispatch. Bush has visited Iraq several times, his administration keen to reduce Iranian influence in the world's top oil-exporting region. Iran, Iraq to review issue of joint oil wells 02.03.08. Xinhua. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini announced on Sunday that Iran and Iraq are to review the issue of the two countries' joint oil wells, the official IRNA news agency reported. FACTBOX: Trade between Iraq and Iran 02.03.08. Reuters. Iraq is Iran's second-largest non-oil export market. It bought about $1.3 billion worth of goods from Iran in 2006, according to a U.S. Congressional Research Service report in January. Estimates for non-oil trade since 2006 have ranged as high as $2 billion, almost entirely one way from Iran to Iraq. * Iran said two days before Ahmadinejad's visit that Tehran is offering a $1 billion loan to Baghdad, a long talked about deal that will cover "basic projects" to be executed by Iranian contractors using Iranians goods and equipment. * Similar taxation, joint investment and customs deals have been discussed, as well as an oil pipeline between Iran's Abadan and the southern Iraqi oil hub of Basra. Iraq is Iran's second-largest non-oil export market. It bought about $1.3 billion worth of goods from Iran in 2006, according to a US Congressional Research ... * Iran has offered to help Iraq develop untapped fields. The two countries share many oil fields, including Naftshahr, Paidar-e Gharb, Azar and Azadegan. MPs warn against US attack on Iran 02.03.08. ukpress. A military strike against Iran is unlikely to succeed and could provoke a violent backlash across the region, MPs have warned. The Commons foreign affairs committee urged the Government to use its influence with Washington to persuade the US administration to "engage" diplomatically with the Iranians over their nuclear programme.

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Part III. REBUILDING AMERICA'S DEFENSES
A BIOPSY ON IMPERIALISM: A NETWORK OF BASES

Sarah Meyer is a researcher living in Sussex, UK.

The shorter URL to this blog is http://tinyurl.com/h9feh
The URL to PNAC: Rebuilding America's Defenses, A Biopsy on Imperialism; Part II: "Special Interests" - The Persian Gulf

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

This article originally published 07/03/2006

Tags: Project New American Century,defense, Persian Gulf, oil, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Paul Bremer, Chalabi, Halliburton

PRISONS AND TORTURE IN IRAQ

INDEX RESEARCH

by Sarah Meyer
updated 22.01.07.

There is, at present, confusion about the closure date of Abu Ghraib. The United States is uncomfortable under the global spotlight on its prisons and torture policies in Iraq. Rather than moderate their policies to accommodate democratic and legal guidelines, they are, instead, planning to move ‘detainees’¹ to newly built prisons which they hope will be less visible.

In February ’04, The International Red Cross published its (January) “Report on the Treatment by the Coalition Forces of Prisoners of War and other protected persons in Iraq.” The report drew the attention of the Coalition Forces “to a number of serious violations of International Humanitarian Law.” These violations were “documented and sometimes observed while visiting prisoners of war, civilian internees and other protected persons by the Geneva Conventions (hereafter called persons deprived of their liberty when their status is not specifically mentioned) in Iraq between March and November 2003." The report said that mistreatment allegedly took place at Abu Ghraib, Camp Cropper and ‘battle group unit stations.’ Other ‘mistreatment’ places of internment mentioned were: ‘Al-Baghdadi, Heat Base and Hubbania Camp in Ramadi governate; Tikrit holding area (former Saddam Hussein Islamic School); a former train station Al-Khaim, near the Syrian border, turned into a military base; the Ministry of Defense and Presidential Palace in Baghdad, the former mukhabarat office in Basra, as well as several Iraqi police stations in Baghdad. Many of these locations are difficult to identify based on the reported place names, which in many cases do not correspond to the place names used by the US military.”

The International Red Cross also produced a later statement in May, which was a summary of the ICRC's attempts in person and in writing from March to November 2003 to get U.S. officials to stop abuses.

The first sexual humiliation, torture and homicide photographs from Abu Ghraib, taken in 2003 were released in April 2004.²

In May ’04, Seymour Hersh published The Grey Zone in the New Yorker. “The roots of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal lie not in the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but in a decision, approved last year by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld …“

On May 7th, Rumsfeld testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. More.

On the 5th of October, The US Senate³ unanimously passed a resolution Senate Resolution 356 “Condemning the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, urging a full and complete investigation to ensure justice is served, and expressing support for all Americans serving nobly in Iraq.” The Senate condemned “in the strongest possible terms the despicable acts at the Abu Ghraib prison" and urged “that all individuals responsible for such despicable acts be held accountable."

In September ’04, Lisa Croke reported that a US legal team from Michigan found evidence of abuse in 24 prisons. In addition to Abu Ghraib and Camp Cooper, they mentioned Baghdad’s al-Salihiya; Al-Dhiloeia, north of Baghdad; a US base outside Fallujah; and the US/Polish jointly run Hilla military compound. “The majority of detention centers where former inmates allege American soldiers and contractors committed acts of abuse were found in and around Baghdad, most of them buildings that had been converted into prisons. (Mustansiriya University Student Housing, on the grounds of Akai Pharmaceutical Company Compound, the Palace of Conferences, the Scania transportation depot and Baghdad’s Al-Sijood Palace)… Detention centres in Tikrit reportedly include one of Saddam Hussein’s Presidential Palaces, Uday Hussein’s former horse stables, and the US-confiscated Tikrit Elementary School.”

‘Detainee’ population grew to over 11,000, more than twice the number in October ’04. Some were being held in ‘field camps’ before being moved to Abu Ghraib.

In January ’05, Tara McKelvey told the stories of women in Iraqi prisons. Ghali Hassan has also written about Iraqi Women Under Occupation.

Baghdad Dweller wrote about a women’s detention centre at Al Kazimiyah where rape⁴ and abuse occurs. There are other women’s stories: “google” ‘torture women Iraq.’

On 10 May ’05, Bradley Graham reported in The Washington Post that the US was to expand three existing detainee facilities “and open a fourth, at a total cost of about $50m.” Camp Bucca, near Umm Qasr, he wrote, would have two extra compounds built, accommodating 7,700. Camp Bucca is known for ‘bone-crushing’ abuse. Cost: $12m.

Camp Cropper, near Baghdad airport, with 120 ‘high-value detainees’, would have extensions built to accommodate 2000 (also ‘high value’?) by the end of 2005. Cost: $30m.

A Russian military barracks near al Sulaymaniyah, the capitol of Kurdistan, has been transformed into a “Theatre Internment Facility’ (aca prison), called Fort Suse. Building started in August ’05; work was subcontracted (by Parsons ⁵?) The prison will accommodate 1,700+ prisoners. The first ‘detainees’ arrived on 24.10.05. It is alleged that the prison will be run by Iraqis, after “extensive training.” Cost: $8m.

And …

Abu Ghraib was having an extension built for 800 ‘detainees.’ Cost: less than $1m.

These plans were approved by Donald Rumsfeld.

In August ’05, Portal Iraq reported on Iraqi Infrastructure. They said that “nationwide, there are 22 prison and court projects planned, with 13 ongoing and nine complete.” Where are these prisons, then?

There was an article, ‘Sheik Beaten, Blinded, Tasered, Released Into The New Iraq’ by Aaron Glantz (09.05) in which Mr. Rolands of the Christian Peacemaker Team mentioned a new prison being built by Parsons Inc. in the north of Iraq. Mr. Rolands is quoted as saying, “In my opinion, you don't build new prisons if you plan on just handing them all over to the Iraqis," Rolands says. "You build a new prison if you plan on staying a long time and arresting many Iraqis in big house raids and big sweeps." Mr Fox of the Christian Peacemaker team was recently found, tortured and murdered. The fate of the three remaining CPT members remains precarious.

By November ‘05, Larisa Alexandrovna wrote, in Raw Story, that ‘detainee’ numbers had grown to 13,514, which was confirmed by the United Nations. Only 1,300 have been tried, of which 636 have been convicted, she said. Detainees, said Raw Story, were also kept at lesser known camps. These include Camp Ashraf, where there have been reports of ‘detainee escapes.’ Camps Al-Kazimiyah and Al-Nasiriyah are mentioned. Finally, an alleged facility on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, as well as “an installation on the USS Baton” are cited.¹

The 2nd release of Abu Ghraib photographs was published on 15 February 2006. Salon published the Complete Abu Ghraib files, composed of 279 photographs and 19 videos, on 15 March 2006.

At the end of February ’06, the New York Times reported that the State Department was requesting $100m for building prisons, though “no other big building projects were in the pipeline for the department's 2006 supplemental and 2007 budget requests for Iraq, which total just over $4b. Iraq Coordinator Jeffrey said that “money would also be set aside to increase the number of prosecutors and corrections advisers (sic)."

Is this request in addition to the Pentagon $50m confirmed by Rumsfeld?

Since the Washington Post story in 05.05, the prison population has grown to 30,000. More than 15,400 were recommended for release in March ’06.

On 9 March, the US DoD American Forces Information Service, said: “News reports that the U.S. military intends to close Abu Ghraib within the next few months and to transfer its prisoners to other jails are inaccurate.”

On 13 March ‘06, Peter Pace, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, "We do have plans to and are in the process of building other facilities to move the detainees under US control out of Abu Ghraib. The facility then will be owned and operated by the Iraqi government and that government will decide when it closes - if it closes."

On the 19th of March '06, The New York Times published 'In Secret
Unit's 'Black Room,'A Grim Portrait of U.S. Abuse,' This Black Room is near Baghdad Airport, where 'honoured' American visitors arrive, smile, and say that Iraq will have 'democracy' and 'freedom'? Are there more grim stories like this one waiting for exposure?

The American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director, Antony Romero, said, “The policies are still in place, and we haven’t held high-level officials accountable for the abuse that happened on their watch. The ACLU will press on with our lawsuit to hold Donald Rumsfeld accountable. If the American government wants to restore faith in our commitment to human rights, we must hold high-ranking officials accountable for their actions. Only then will the horrors of Abu Ghraib truly come to an end.”


REPORTS

08.02 Office of the Attorney General: Memorandum for Alberto Gonzales, Re: Standards of Conduct for Interrogation (pdf)

“On 19 January 2004, Lieutenant General (LTG) Ricardo S. Sanchez, Commander, Combined Joint Task Force Seven (CJTF-7) requested that the Commander, US Central Command, appoint an Investigating Officer (IO) in the grade of Major General (MG) or above to investigate the conduct of operations within the 800th Military Police (MP) Brigade.” TAGUBA REPORT - HEARING ARTICLE 15-6 INVESTIGATION OF THE 800th MILITARY POLICE BRIGADE

01.04.04. "Request that the findings and recommendations of the subject investigation relating to BG Janis L. Karpinski be set aside and no additional adverse action taken. The 800th Military Police (MP) Brigade (Bde) under the command of BG Karpinski successfully accomplished every mission assigned despite being under-strength and under-resourced."BG Karpinski Rebuttal to AR 15-6 Investigation of the 800s' Military Police Brigade

21.07.04. Department of the Army: The Inspector General. "This inspection report responds to the Acting Secretary of the Army's 10 February 2004 directive to conduct a functional analysis of the Army's conduct of detainee and interrogation operations to identify any capability shortfalls with respect to internment, enemy prisoner of war, detention operations, and interrogation procedures and recommend appropriate resolutions or changes if required." [PDF 2.287 Mb] Detainee Operations Inspection

23.08.04. AR 15-6 Investigation of the Abu Ghraib Prison and 205th Military Intelligence Brigade by LTG Anthony R. Jones and MG George R. Fay US Army [PDF 920 Kb]


Amnesty International

18.03.04. Iraq. One year on the human rights situation remains dire.

07.04.04. An open letter to President George W. Bush on the question of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment

27.10.04. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Human dignity denied. Torture and accountability in the ‘war on terror.

08.01.05. Cruel. Inhuman. Degrades us all. Stop torture and ill-treatment in the ‘War on terror’

06.03.06. Beyond Abu Ghraib: detention and torture in Iraq


Human Rights Watch

05.04. Letter to President Bush

05.04. Summary of International and U.S. Law Prohibiting Torture and Other Ill-treatment of Persons in Custody

06.04. The Road to Abu Ghraib

06.04. Bush Policies Led to Abuse in Iraq

07.04. Military Investigations into Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody

01.05. The New Iraq

04.05. Getting Away with Torture?

09.05. Leadership Failure

24.05. New Accounts of Torture by U.S. Troops 2006 World Report

01 - 02.06. "According to the Ministry of Human Rights, as of 28 February 2006, there were total of 29,565 detainees -- 14,229 in the custody of the MNF-I; 8,391 in the custody of the Ministry of Justice; 488 juveniles under the custody of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs; 5,997 held by the Ministry of Interior and 460 by the Ministry of Defense ... The Human Rights Office also continues to receive regular allegations and evidence of torture in detention centres, particularly those not operated or controlled by the Ministry of Justice. UN Assistance Mission for Iraq

Also see: Greenberg, Karen. The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib, Cambridge University Press.
McCoy, Alfred. A Question of Torture, Metropolitan Books, New York, 2006.


“We don’t do torture.” CIA Director, Porter Goss, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, March ’05.

How can the United States Senate and Congress sit there doing NOTHING to prevent the disgrace of US prisons in Iraq and the subsequent torture of incarcerated detainees?'


Footnotes
[1] A prisoner has legal rights. The OED definition of ‘detainer’ has negative implications, implying unlawfulness. A ‘detainee’ has no rights, and can be imprisoned, tortured, deported and/or suffer ‘rendition’ by the US/UK.
[2] Abu Ghraib Scandal Time-Line
[3] See also Treatment of Prisoners Dossier
[4] Photographs 2004; women raped in Iraq.
[5] The press release, ‘Parsons Will Design/Build Security and Justice Facilities,’ was on 29.03.04, i.e. one month before the Abu Ghraib ’03 photographs became public. This ‘awarded’ contract was worth $900m.
[6] On 14 March ’06, the Moscow Times revived an allegation that Ukraine hosted a secret CIA prison for terrorist suspects.

Updates

Detainee Abuse and Accountability Project (DAA)
April 2006. Human Rights Watch Report. The DAA Project has to date documented at least 330 cases in which U.S. military and civilian personnel are alleged to have abused detainees, ranging from beatings and assaults, to torture, sexual abuse, and homicide. Among the cases:

At least 600 U.S. personnel are implicated (numerous cases involve more than one perpetrator). Military personnel comprise over 95 percent of those implicated (at least 570 people), and at least ten CIA or other intelligence personnel are implicated, and approximately twenty civilian contractors working for either the military or the CIA.

At least 460 detainees have been subjected to abuse, including people held in Iraq, Afghanistan, and at Guantánamo Bay.

The majority of the approximately 330 cases took place in Iraq (at least 220 cases), followed by Afghanistan (at least sixty cases), and Guantánamo Bay (at least fifty cases).

Prisons and Torture in Iraq
12.12.06. S. Meyer, Index Research. There is, at present, confusion about the closure date of Abu Ghraib. The United States is uncomfortable under the global spotlight on its prisons and torture policies in Iraq. Rather than moderate their policies to accommodate democratic and legal guidelines, they are, instead, planning to move ‘detainees’1 to newly built prisons which they hope will be less visible. Prisons, Reports.

04.09.06. ABC. “Iraq for Sale.” Documentary Slams U.S. Companies Working in Iraq.

06.09.06. CBS. The new manual, called "Human Intelligence Collector Operations," applies to all the armed services, not just the Army. It does not cover the Central Intelligence Agency, which also has come under investigation for mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan and for allegedly keeping suspects in secret prisons elsewhere around the world since the Sept. 11 attacks. U.S. Army Bans Torture of Prisoners..
&
06.09.06. “an attempt to authorize the CIA to engage in the sorts of ‘enhanced’ interrogation techniques. New Bush bill would legalize torture..

20.09.06. I. Arieff, Reuters. Rights groups have alleged torture takes place in prisons run by the U.S.-led multinational force as well as by the Interior and Defense ministries and militias, it said. Torture rampant in Iraqi prisons, streets, UN says..

Torture in Iraq may be worse now than it was under Saddam Hussein, with militias, terrorist groups and government forces disregarding rules on the humane treatment of prisoners, the U.N. anti-torture chief said Thursday. The Bush administration "angrily rejected" this claim.

U.S. Army Bans Torture of Prisoners
06.09.06. CBS. The new manual, called "Human Intelligence Collector Operations," applies to all the armed services, not just the Army. It does not cover the Central Intelligence Agency, which also has come under investigation for mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan and for allegedly keeping suspects in secret prisons elsewhere around the world since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Torture rampant in Iraqi prisons, streets, UN says
20.09.06. I. Arieff, Reuters. Rights groups have alleged torture takes place in prisons run by the U.S.-led multinational force as well as by the Interior and Defense ministries and militias, it said.

U.N. expert: Iraq torture may be worse
21.09.06. E. Engeler, The State. Torture in Iraq may be worse now than it was under Saddam Hussein, with militias, terrorist groups and government forces disregarding rules on the humane treatment of prisoners, the U.N. anti-torture chief said Thursday. The Bush administration
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-2369999,00.html">
angrily rejected
this claim.


Military Commissions Act of 2006


• Bush's Military Commissions Act and the Future of America
14.10.06. Jennifer van Bergen, Counterpunch. … “While the President has consistently insisted these laws are necessary, it is becoming increasingly clear that, in addition to a huge up-swelling of anti-American sentiment in the Middle East, the administration's approach to terrorism has led to a tremendous number of false arrests and imprisonments…”


• Amnesty International Urges the Administration: "Return to the Rule of Law"
11.09.06. Amnesty Int. Press Release.

Human Rights Denial Deserves Impeachment
11.09.06. P. Phillips, ICH. The U.S. government is actively torturing people to death. One need only read the 44 official U.S. military autopsy reports on civilian detainees from Afghanistan and Iraq in 2002 to 2004 posted on the American Civil Liberties website to see the horrendous details of deaths by "strangulation," "asphyxiation" and "blunt force injuries. The Military Commission Act retroactively approved the use of torture to the beginning of the 9/11 Wars. Congress's reaction to the ACLU report in October of 2005 was to pass legislation banning further use of the Freedom of Information Act to request documents on current military operations."

Rights groups set to file Rumsfeld war crimes lawsuit in Germany
09.11.06. The Jurist. The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) [advocacy website] announced [press release] Thursday that a coalition of US and international human rights groups plan to file a war crimes lawsuit against outgoing US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld [official profile] after his resignation Wednesday. Rumsfeld enjoys statutory immunity in the United States and so CCR, the National Lawyers Guild, the International Federation of Human Rights [advocacy websites] and others will file the complaint in Germany under that country's universal jurisdiction [AI backgrounder] law. See also
Video.


• Donald Rumsfeld: The War Crimes Case
Marjorie Cohen, President of the National Lawyers Guild, The Jurist Forum.

• Along with Rumsfeld, Gonzales and Tenet, the other defendants in the case are Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone; former assistant attorney general Jay Bybee; former deputy assisant attorney general John Yoo; General Counsel for the Department of Defense William James Haynes II; and David S. Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff. Senior military officers named in the filing are General Ricardo Sanchez, the former top Army official in Iraq; Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the former commander of Guantanamo; senior Iraq commander, Major General Walter Wojdakowski; and Col. Thomas Pappas, the one-time head of military intelligence at Abu Ghraib.
Time.
10.11.06.

Iraq: One Year On, Still No Justice For Torture Victims
10.11.06. Amnesty Int. Amnesty International is calling on the Iraqi government to publish the findings of its investigation in the so-called al-Jadiriya case in November 2005, involving the detention and torture of suspects under the control of the Iraqi Interior Ministry.

The URL to Prison and Torture in Iraq is: Here

Sarah Meyer is a researcher living in Sussex, UK.
You can email her at: sarahmeyer@freedom255.com