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-- Australia says oil means no Iraq withdrawal
Australia says oil means no Iraq withdrawal
Our friends at Halliburton have relocated to Dubai. Oil seems to be where the money is at, because not just oil companies, but governments are actively competing for it.
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| Australia says oil means no Iraq withdrawal 1 hour, 40 minutes ago CANBERRA (AFP) - Australia admitted for the first time on Thursday that securing an oil supply is a key factor behind its involvement in the US-led war in Iraq. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said a review of Australia's defence strategy to be released Thursday concluded that maintaining "resource security" in the Middle East was a priority. "The defence update we're releasing today sets out many priorities for Australia's defence and security, and resource security is one of them," Nelson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "Obviously the Middle East itself, not only Iraq, but the entire region is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world. "Australians and all of us need to think what would happen if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq," he said. Australia joined the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and Prime Minister John Howard remains a strong supporter of Washington's military campaign in the country, including the current deployment of about 1,575 soldiers. Nelson said Australia's main reasons for remaining in Iraq were to prevent al-Qaeda-driven violence between the Sunni and Shia populations and to help key ally the United States combat terrorism and stabilise the region. But he said safeguarding oil supplies was an important part of bringing stability. "For all of those reasons, one of which is energy security, it's extremely important that Australia take the view that it's in our interests, our security interests, to make sure that we leave the Middle East, and leave Iraq in particular, in a position of sustainable security," he said. Nelson said Australia's troops would remain in Iraq for as long as they were needed and would not be affected by elections here later this year, when Howard's conservative government will seek a fifth term in office. "We have made a conscious decision that it's the conditions on the ground that will determine how long we stay in Iraq, not the political conditions in Australia," he said. The centre-left opposition Labor Party, which wants to withdraw Australia's troops from Iraq, said the government's admission that the conflict was linked to oil contradicted its statements before the 2003 invasion. "When Mr Howard was asked back in 2003 whether this war had anything to do with oil, Mr Howard said in no way did it have anything to do with oil," Labor leader Kevin Rudd told reporters. "This government simply makes it up as it goes along on Iraq." Howard will release the biennial defence review, defining national defence policy, later Thursday. Howard denied the war was linked to oil in an interview on February 2003, on the eve of the invasion. "It's about the danger to Australia if countries like Iraq continue to have chemical and biological weapons, and those weapons get into the hands of international terrorists -- that fundamentally is what this is about," he said at the time. |
yeah, how dare anyone protect iraq's most valuable resource! hell, we should all let the insurgents set fire to the wells now, so no iraqi will ever find any prosperity.
edit: oh, and serious WTF @ the labor party being described as "centre left". who writes this shit?
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| Australia 'has Iraq oil motive' Australia has about 1,500 military personnel in the Gulf Australia has admitted that securing oil is a key factor behind its continued troop deployment in Iraq. It is the first time such an admission has been made, correspondents say. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said that maintaining "resource security" in the Middle East was a priority for the government in Canberra. But he added that the main reason troops were still in the Gulf was to ensure that the humanitarian crisis there did not worsen. Australia was involved in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and has about 1,500 military personnel still deployed in the region. There are no immediate plans to bring them home. Howard accused Releasing the government's review of its national security policy, Mr Nelson said that the supply of oil had influenced strategic planning. "The defence update we're releasing today sets out many priorities for Australia's defence and security, and resource security is one of them," he said. "Obviously the Middle East itself, not only Iraq but the entire region, is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world." Critics have accused the Australian government of telling lies about Iraq. Opposition politicians said that back in 2003, Prime Minister John Howard insisted the campaign to oust former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with oil. They have chastised Mr Howard, accusing him of making up his policy in the Gulf as he goes along. Anti-war protesters say the government's admission has proved that the US-led invasion was more of a grab for oil rather than a genuine attempt to uncover weapons of mass destruction. But ministers in Canberra have brushed aside the criticism, saying they remain committed to helping the US stabilise Iraq and combat terrorism. They have also stressed that there will be no "premature withdrawal" of Australian forces from the region. |
Would be very nice to get an article of US defense minister saying the same thing his Aussie counterpart did ;-) if anyone has the beef, please let me know ;-) 
Re: Australia says oil means no Iraq withdrawal
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| Originally posted by Krypton Our friends at Halliburton have relocated to Dubai. |
Re: Re: Australia says oil means no Iraq withdrawal
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| Originally posted by atbell This is one of the most under reported news items in the past decade. To avoid a tirade about the Latin American debt crisis, the arms trade, and upper class neo-monarchies, I will tell a simple anticdote. In the early days of shipping it was well known that before a vessal got in to trouble the rats would all begin to jump ship. |
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| Originally posted by star-traveller Australia 'has Iraq oil motive' It's called a Western world style policy. So disgusting... |
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| Originally posted by star-traveller Australia 'has Iraq oil motive' It's called a Western world style policy. So disgusting... |
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| Originally posted by George Smiley You want a dodgy oil policy? Look at China in Sudan. Have you ever wondered why the UN is powerless to do anything against Sudan over Dafur? It's because China is on the Security Council and will veto any action against their oil-supplying ally |
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First Chinese firm wins oilsands exploration rights Posted: July 3, 2007 Section: June 29, 2007, edmontonjournal.com, SHANGHAI (AFP) - China National Petroleum Corp has become the first Chinese firm to control a Canadian oilsands project after winning exploration rights to the resources in Alberta, state press said today. The country's largest oil company has secured exploration rights to 11 sections with an area of 258.6 square kilometres, the Shanghai Securities News reported, citing unnamed company producer sources. The deal, expected to eventually yield 220,000 barrels of crude daily, is the first case of a Chinese firm taking a controlling stake in a Canadian oilsands project, the report said, without disclosing any financial details. In 2005, China National Offshore Oil Corp agreed to acquire a 16.69 per cent stake in Canada's MEG Energy Corp, for C$150 million. The later owns oilsand leases in 52 sections totalling 32,800 acres in Alberta. Sinopec, Asia's largest refiner, also agreed to pay C$150 million for a 40 per cent stake in a joint venture producing synthetic crude from western Canada oilsands. The Shanghai newspaper cited officials with the China National Petroleum Corp as saying that oilsands, which are more expensive to process than light crude, are viable as long as crude prices are above $30 US per barrel. At an estimated 173 billion barrels, Canada's oil sands rank second behind Saudi Arabia in petroleum reserves at 230 billion barrels but they were long neglected due to high extraction costs. Since 2000, however, soaring crude prices and improved extraction technology have persuaded several foreign companies to invest billions of dollars. |
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| Originally posted by Fir3start3r What's more amazing is the lack of info on this subject. China has more tentacles in foreign countries than we'd like to believe, mostly because of their voracious appetite for raw materials. Even here in Canada it's starting... >>Source<< So if Australia has a 'Western world style policy' does this mean China has an 'Eastern world style policy' in kind? |
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| Originally posted by Fir3start3r What's more amazing is the lack of info on this subject. China has more tentacles in foreign countries than we'd like to believe, mostly because of their voracious appetite for raw materials. Even here in Canada it's starting... |
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