Weapons of Mass Destruction, the disguise to access the oil!

A host of nations pose a threat as having weapons of mass destruction (WMD's).  The list of all the countries with nuclear, biological, and chemical programs can be seen here, and these type of weapons are not new ideas. 

Evidence of chemical warfare has been found from 256 AD suggesting that the Persian army gassed Roman soldiers by pumping toxic fumes of bitumen and sulphur crystals into a tunnel.  The soldiers were "unconscious in seconds, dead in minutes."  WMD's  are nothing new in ancient or modern warfare.

Weapons of Mass Destruction were not found by the United States in Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Click here to check out old figures on how much the US spent.  It's estimated that over one million innocent Iraqi's were killed, and some four million were removed from their homes.  Rev. William E. Alberts calls it a "falsely-based illegal invasion, and occupation of Iraq," read more of Alberts article.

The war still rages on as the Iraqi people are killed from Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's-roadside bombs), and daily violence.  A database that keeps a record of violent incidents in Iraq can be viewed at iraq body count.

It's just a mouse click away to view the list of daily incidents against the Iraqi people, "Housing Ministry Official shot dead," "Foreign Ministry Official shot dead," "23-year old protester shot dead," "Police driver shot dead," Body of man found burnt."  

It is always interesting to look back in time to see how events before the invasion unfolded. 

July 15, 2004, BBC News, Royal Dutch/Shell investors shocked.  Walter van de Vijver, head of exploration and production lied to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about the extent of the companies reserves.  It was reported to the SEC that Royal Dutch/Shell had nearly 20 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves that were proven and commercially viable to exploit when the figure was nearer to 16 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves.  For more information on Royal Dutch/Shell click here.  Read the Royal Dutch/Shell Reserves Fraud case here.  More on Walter van de Vijver here.

November 22, 2005, The Independent, Iraqi's could lose billions in an American plan to hand over development of it's oil reserves to multi-national corporations. Iraq has the world's third largest oil reserves.  In a report entitled, Crude Designs: The Rip Off of Iraq's Oil Wealth, "Oil accounts for 95% of Iraq's government revenues."  Seventeen of Iraq's eighty known oil fields represent 40 billion of the 115 billion known oil reserves.  The policy to allocate undeveloped oil fields to multi-national companies would give them control of  64%.   If foreign companies take a share of its vast energy reserves, it will be caught in an "old colonial trap." The report named several companies, including the Anglo-Dutch Shell group, as jockeying for position before a new government is elected.

In the September 16, 2007, Sunday Times, the truth of why we invaded Iraq was acknowledged by former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, "it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows, the Iraq war is largely about oil." 

April 18, 2011, Globe and Mail, reported that Britain discussed plans to exploit Iraq’s oil reserves with some of the world’s biggest oil companies five months before it joined the United States in invading the country. The Daily Mail, reported that the WMD intel was fabricated, read more of the story here.

April 22, 2011, The Independent, "What happened to the oil?"  This is the question Greg Muttitt asks in his new book, "Fuel on the Fire,"  which documents just how highly oil figured in the thinking of those who led what is widely thought to have been an illegal invasion. "The primary strategic interest for the US and Britain is to have a low and stable oil price. A secondary interest is for their own corporations to do well."  At the heart of "Fuel on the Fire" is the story of the Iraqi peoples' fight against the Oil Law – a law which would have removed the need for parliamentary approval of contracts with oil companies.

Lets presume for a moment that the invasion was illegal.  Lets also take a few moments to look at the costs of the war, before and after the June 28th "transfer of power."  The Institute for Policy Studies outlines the cost details.  It's revelatory study, can be viewed here.  The report suggests, "A failed transition is the most comprehensive accounting of the mounting costs and consequences of the Iraq war on the United States, Iraq, and the world."

If there were no WMD's, and the invasion was illegal, and we see that the US was unsuccessful in establishing control over the Iraqi oil, and we know that the costs of the war to the American people was huge, and we know it was even more costly to the Iraqi people in terms of loss of life, and loss of way of life through a dismantled social and economic infrastructure......then what was the purpose?

PIMCO's chief view of the global economic picture

There is always a point in time when a series of events take shape to show a clearer picture of the situation at hand.  The chief's at PIMCO believe that the global economic transformation is already visible above the horizon.  A transformation that Mohamed El-Erain has described as, "The world was a plane flying on a big engine called the US consumer. That engine is getting exhausted.  Many smaller, new engines are coming on: China, India, Brazil, & Russia."  These smaller new engines are visible to the Obama administration too.  It's clear from the President's budget speech that he knows that other countries are advancing to transform their economies.  The scenario of  unfolding events is in the eye of the beholder.  What picture emerges for you?

Wednesday, June 17, 2008: Who is Mohamed El-Erain? Co-chief executive officer and co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Company, or PIMCO.   El-Erain lays out major trends in global economic transformation. Trends such as the re-alignment in global growth, inflation, the innovation of structured finance, and the transfer of wealth.  An outline of El-Erain's trends are described in an article by Thomas Tan.  Why is El-Erain important?  Because PIMCO is the worlds largest mutual fund, and what El-Erain thinks about US debt is an indicator in itself.  In light of seeing global transformation, is El- Erain telling investors that hold US bonds to "take our risk of of the table?"

Thursday, January 6, 2011: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner debt limit letter to congress. "Never in our history has Congress failed to increase the debt limit when necessary.  Failure to raise the limit would precipitate a default by the United States."

Wednesday, March 8, 2011:  PIMCO reportedly cashes out of US Treasuries in January 2011.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011:  The PIMCO outlook.  What advice do you have for US investors? Mohamed El Erain, "Be careful of overloading on US based investments."

Thursday, March 31, 2011: PIMCO's  founder William Gross reduces US Debt to zero.

Monday, April 4, 2011: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's debt limit letter to congress. "If the debt limit is not increased by May 16, the Treasury Department has authority to take certain extraordinary measures, described in detail in the appendix, to temporarily postpone the date that the United States would otherwise default on its obligations."

Wednesday, April 13, 2011: Senate Committe On Finance.  Ranking members Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) release hearing statements regarding the deficit reduction.  Witness Testimony provided by Dr. J.D. Foster, The Honorable David Walker, and Dr. Alan S. Binder.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011: President Barak Obama Budget Speech.  "Go to China and you’ll see businesses opening research labs and solar facilities.  South Korean children are outpacing our kids in math and science.  They’re scrambling to figure out how they put more money into education.  Brazil is investing billions in new infrastructure and can run half their cars not on high-priced gasoline, but on biofuels.  And yet, we are presented with a vision that says the American people, the United States of America – the greatest nation on Earth – can’t afford any of this."

Sunday, April 17, 2011:  Meet The Press-Treasury Secretay Tim Geithner.  "Congress will raise the debt limit," and "it is essential to preserve the credit worthiness of the United States of America."

Monday April 18, 2011: Standard & Poor's Rating Service downgraded it's outlook on U.S. Government debt expressing doubts that about bringing massive federal budget deficits under control.

Monday, May 2, 2011: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner extends the deadline for raising the national debt to August 2, 2011.

Monday, May 9, 2011: PIMCO, Bill Gross manager of the world's largest bond fund announces that he will raise his bet against government debt one percent.

If the managers of the worlds largest mutual fund have decided that buying US debt is not a good investment right now; if our President knows that smaller economies are steadily growing, and if our Congress can't agree on working budget, then where does the US go from here?