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Global energy giants win contracts for 2 Iraqi oil fields _English_Xinhua
The world's leading energy companies won rights to develop two major oil fields in Iraq at an auction on Friday.
Royal Dutch Shell and Malaysia's Petronas were awarded the contract to exploit the Majnoon oil field in southern Iraq, one of the world's largest untapped oil fields with more than 12 billion barrels of proven reserves.
They accepted a fee of 1.39 U.S. dollars per barrel.
Blair Says Nuclear Weapons Weren’t Vital to Iraq War (Update1) - Bloomberg.com
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would have favored removing Saddam Hussein from power even with no evidence that the Iraqi leader had weapons of mass destruction, he said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp.
“I would still have thought it right to remove him,” Blair said when asked if he would have backed a war against Iraq knowing that Hussein didn’t have nuclear weapons. “Obviously, you would have had to use and deploy different arguments” to justify the war to lawmakers and the public, he told the BBC.
Iraq sees alarming rise in cancers, deformed babies | Reuters
Incidences of cancer, deformed babies and other health problems have risen sharply, Iraqi officials say, and many suspect contamination from weapons used in years of war and accompanying unchecked pollution as a cause.
"We have seen new kinds of cancer that were not recorded in Iraq before war in 2003, types of fibrous (soft tissue) cancer and bone cancer. These refer clearly to radiation as a cause," said Jawad al-Ali, an oncologist in Iraq's second city of Basra.
In the city of Falluja in western Iraq, scene of two of the fiercest battles between U.S. troops and insurgents after the 2003 U.S. invasion, a spike in the number of births of stillborn, deformed and paralyzed babies has alarmed doctors.
The Associated Press: British panel begins inquiry on Iraq war
An inquiry into Britain's role in the Iraq war kicked off Tuesday with top government advisers testifying that some Bush administration officials were calling for Saddam Hussein's ouster as early as 2001 — long before sanctions were exhausted and two years before the U.S.-led invasion.
Critics hope the hearings, which will call ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair and are billed as the most sweeping inquiry into the conflict, will expose alleged deception in the buildup to fighting. However, they won't establish criminal or civil liability.
As the inquiry began, a small group of anti-war protesters gathered near Parliament. Three wore face masks of George Bush, Blair and Prime Minister Gordon Brown — their hands and faces covered in fake blood.
"Five years we've waited for this, and finally we're getting somewhere," said Pauline Graham, 70, who traveled from the Scottish city of Glasgow to see the hearings. Her grandson Gordon Gentle, 19, was killed in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in 2004.
Growing concern over humanitarian situation in Fallujah
The fifth anniversary of the second attack on Fallujah by US forces has seen an upsurge in interest in the lingering humanitarian problems resulting from the conflict. Both the US and UNEP have roles to play in clarifying exactly what happened and ICBUW calls on them to accept this responsibility.
19 November 2009 - ICBUW
ICBUW is deeply concerned by press reports of a steep rise in birth defects in Fallujah, Iraq, following the two attacks by US forces in 2004. Such stories are sadly familiar to anyone who has followed the history of Iraq after the wars in 1991 and 2003, and it has long been thought that the use of uranium weapons – so-called ‘depleted uranium’ – in both conflicts has played a role in the rise in deformities among newborns.
Toxic munitions 'may be cause' of baby deaths and deformities in Fallujah - Middle East, World - The Independent
Evidence was growing this weekend that babies born in the Iraqi city of Fallujah – scene in 2004 of one of the few set-piece battles of the invasion – are exhibiting high rates of mortality and birth defects.
In September this year, say campaigners, 170 children were born at Fallujah General Hospital, 24 per cent of whom died within seven days. Three-quarters of these exhibited deformities, including "children born with two heads, no heads, a single eye in their foreheads, or missing limbs". The comparable data for August 2002 – before the invasion – records 530 births, of whom six died and only one of whom was deformed.
Huge rise in birth defects in Falluja | World news | guardian.co.uk
Doctors in Iraq's war-ravaged enclave of Falluja are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting.
The extraordinary rise in birth defects has crystallised over recent months as specialists working in Falluja's over-stretched health system have started compiling detailed clinical records of all babies born.
The Associated Press: Cheney FBI interview: 72 instances of can't recall
Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald famously declared in the Valerie Plame affair that "there is a cloud over the vice president." Last week's release of an FBI interview summary of Dick Cheney's answers in the criminal investigation underscores why Fitzgerald felt that way.
On 72 occasions, according to the 28-page FBI summary, Cheney equivocated to the FBI during his lengthy May 2004 interview, saying he could not be certain in his answers to questions about matters large and small in the Plame controversy.
Cheney remarks in leak probe released - Washington Post Investigations
Former Vice President Dick Cheney told a special prosecutor in 2004 that he could not remember playing any role in leaking the identity of Valerie Plame as a clandestine CIA officer, according to FBI records released under court order (PDF) today.
After years of legal maneuvering to keep the documents secret, they were made public late today under a lawsuit brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. That organization provided the FBI notes to The Washington Post. Portions of the three documents, totaling 67 pages, were redacted on grounds of national security, privacy or privileged presidential communications.
Outline and Notes from the Cheney Interview (PDF)
Second document from Cheney interview (PDF)
Third document from Cheney interview (PDF)
Associated Press: Cheney told FBI he had no idea who leaked Plame ID
Vice President Dick Cheney told the FBI he had no idea who leaked to the news media that Valerie Plame, wife of a Bush administration critic, worked for the CIA.
An FBI summary of Cheney's interview from 2004 reflects that the vice president had deep concern about Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador in Africa who said the administration had twisted prewar intelligence on Iraq.
Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted of perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI in the probe of who leaked Plame's identity to the news media. At the end of Libby's trial, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said that "there is a cloud over the vice president" in the leaking of Plame's identity.
The BRAD BLOG : VIDEO: ABC's Diane Sawyer on Sibel Edmonds, FBI Whistleblower, First Amendment 'Heroine'
In advance of tomorrow's related story [Update: That story now posted here], I thought you might appreciate a quick look at the following if you've never seen it before. Diane Sawyer narrates the story of FBI translator-turned-whistleblower Sibel Edmonds as she was awarded the 2006 PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award.
In the bargain, it's also worth remembering that Sawyer herself is at least aware of Edmonds, who she is, and some of what she's had to go through, further begging the question of why ABC News has failed to even note --- much less investigate and/or cover --- the recent revelations of bribery and blackmail of current and former U.S. Congressmembers and high-ranking State and Defense Department officials, and the theft and sale of nuclear secrets by agents of Turkey and Israel, as detailed in her sworn deposition in August, and remarkable AmCon cover-story interview which followed it late last month...
AFP: Judge orders Cheney statements released in Plame case
A federal judge ordered the US Justice Department to release significant portions of statements former vice president Dick Cheney made to the FBI about the Valerie Plame case.
The judge dismissed objections brought by the previous George W. Bush administration to the release of records about the leak of Plame's name to the media, which compromised her position as a covert CIA officer.
The Bush administration had claimed it could withhold the documents because their release could hamper the cooperation of White House officials in future probes.
The public interest group that filed the lawsuit in 2008 stressed "the particular urgency to inform the public about the role vice president Cheney played in the leak of Mrs Wilson's covert identity, and the basis for the decision not to prosecute him."
Sibel Edmonds’s Big Day « Antiwar.com Blog
Sibel Edmonds, former contract-FBI translator/whistleblower and “most gagged person in U.S. history” has finally told all – to Antiwar.com’s Philip Giraldi. It’s all in the cover story for November’s issue of The American Conservative magazine, “Who’s Afraid of Sibel Edmonds?” which hits the stands (and Website) on Tuesday.
Last month, Edmonds was deposed in a civil lawsuit for 6 hours (video and transcript here), and told as much of her story as she ever has, and all together in one place. Now, however, she has gone much further and apparently told Giraldi everything, less sources and methods.
Did Iraq Contractor KBR Expose Troops To Deadly Toxin? - cbs4.com
Contractor KBR Inc. Accused Of Exposing Troops In Iraq And Afghanistan To Deadly Contaminants
Senate Hearing To Examine How Government Can Take Precautions In Such Situations
Larry Roberta's every breath is a painful reminder of his time in Iraq. He can't walk a block without gasping for air. His chest hurts, his migraines sometimes persist for days and he needs pills to help him sleep.
James Gentry came home with rashes, ear troubles and a shortness of breath. Later, things got much worse: He developed lung cancer, which spread to his spine, ribs and one of his thighs; he must often use a cane, and no longer rides his beloved Harley.
The truth behind Depleted Uranium (DU) Contamination and its usage
There has been significant publicity about the use of Depleted Uranium (DU) munitions, its ability to travel very long distances and the consequences to our health.
So where does DU come from, why is it used in munitions, what do such weapons look like, and what is their application in today’s warfare?
Although it was widely believed that DU munitions were used extensively during the Balkans War (1991-2001) it didn’t show its true face until the occurrence of an accident at a military camp in Kuwait. in 1991. Events prior to this accident had started intense US military activity in the region as a result of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on the 2nd of August 1990. Iraq forces had occupied Kuwait for seven months and in February the following year saw Operation Desert Storm liberate Kuwait. At the request of the Kuwaiti Government the United States sent re enforcements to the region in order to stabilise Kuwait and secure its borders. It was obvious at the time that this build up was showing clear signs of some other hidden agenda in the build up to an attack on Iraq.
It was reported in the NY Times on the 19th of May 1991 that Dick Cheney had emphasized that the move was temporary and said: “It is our objective to get them out as quickly as possible. And the president’s made it clear we don’t want a permanent long - lasting ground presence in the gulf.” It is ironic that 18 years later US Forces are still deeply emended in Iraq with clear intentions of permanent bases within Iraq.
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On the 11th of July 1991, an explosion ripped through a United States ammunition depot referred to as Camp Doha killing and injuring both US and British forces. There were many cases of shrapnel wounds that would lead to further misery of those injured. The NY Times reported that the explosion incinerated nearby vehicles and tore the roof off the British headquarters building. The walls of several warehouses used as barracks for American and British soldiers were riddled with holes.
Tenet’s Greatest Hit a Miss - by Gordon Prather
In 1991, when inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency were allowed back into Iraq – after United Nations forces ejected the Iraqi invaders from Kuwait and Saddam Hussein had agreed to comply with certain UN Security Council resolutions – they quickly discovered that Saddam had been in violation of the Iraqi IAEA Safeguards Agreement.
Whereupon the Security Council passed Resolution 687, which among other things, ordered the destruction – under supervision of a specially constituted IAEA Action Team – of all remaining elements of Iraq’s nuclear programs, and imposed sanctions on Iraq until such time as the IAEA Action Team could report that such destruction had been accomplished and that Iraq was once again in compliance with its IAEA Safeguards Agreement.
The IAEA Action Team made such a report, first in 1998, and updated it in succeeding years.
Peak Energy: The Oil giants are itching to invade Iraq
The Times has an update on the efforts of western oil majors to secure Iraq's oil, noting "The big players have been shut out since nationalisation in 1972. Now they see their chance to get in" - Oil giants are itching to invade Iraq.
Yet since the Iraqi government nationalised the industry in 1972, oil’s main players have been shut out. Years of war and violence have kept them at bay.
That may be about to change. In October the Baghdad government kicked off a round of bidding to allow international oil companies to exploit eight of the country’s largest oil and gasfields. BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and Gazprom are among the 35 companies that have put concerns about security to one side and thrown their hats in the ring. The deals would pave the way for the first significant foreign investment in the country’s biggest fields in more than three decades. Some side deals have already been signed — last month Shell announced a $4 billion (£2.7 billion) gas joint venture with the Iraqi government and opened a permanent office in the country.
The Associated Press: Panel: Congress was misled on Iraq uranium issue
Former White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales misled Congress when he claimed the CIA in 2002 approved information that ended up in the 2003 State of the Union speech about Iraq's alleged effort to buy uranium for its nuclear weapons program, a House committee said Thursday. The committee also expressed skepticism about claims by then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice that she was unaware of the CIA's doubts about the claim before President George W. Bush's speech.
Iraq's alleged attempt to buy uranium was one of the justifications for the Bush administration's decision to go to war. The claim has since been repudiated.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said in a memo that its investigation showed the CIA had warned at least four National Security Council officials not to allow Bush, in three speeches in 2002, to cite questionable intelligence that Iraq had attempted to obtain uranium. The sentences were stripped out of those speeches, but made it into the State of the Union address.
Peak Energy: Iraq's Oil: The Greatest Prize Of All
I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil - Alan Greenspan (2007)
The Guardian had an interesting article recently on the auction of 40 billion barrels of Iraqi oil reserves.
The biggest ever sale of oil assets will take place today, when the Iraqi government puts 40bn barrels of recoverable reserves up for offer in London. BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are all expected to attend a meeting at the Park Lane Hotel in Mayfair with the Iraqi oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani.
Access is being given to eight fields, representing about 40% of the Middle Eastern nation's reserves, at a time when the country remains under occupation by US and British forces. Two smaller agreements have already been signed with Shell and the China National Petroleum Corporation, but today's sale will ignite arguments over whether the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was a "war for oil" that is now to be consummated by western multinationals seizing control of strategic Iraqi reserves.
Iraq environment scarred by deadly waste of war » Kuwait Times Website
BAGHDAD: Long after the shooting and bombing stops, Iraqis will still be dying from the war. Destroyed factories have become untended hazardous waste sites, leaking poison into the water and the soil. Forests in the north and palm groves in the south have been obliterated to remove the enemy's hiding places.
Rivers are salted, water is contaminated with sewage, and land is strewn with mines, unexploded bombs, chemical waste, rubble and trash. "When we talk about it, people may think we are overreacting. But in fact the environmental catastrophe that we inherited in Iraq is even worse than it sounds," Iraqi Environment Minister Nermeen Othman said in an interview. "War destroys countries' environments, not just their people. War and its effects have led to changes in the social, economic and environmental fabri
c," she said. "It will take centuries to restore the natural environment of Iraq.
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