Anchor
20th April 2011, 09:30
Saw this in the "Independent" - its what we all knew but I wonder if this is coming out now because someone has it in for Tony Blair?
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How the wheels of this misadventure were oiled
Tony Blair was certainly not shy about championing the interests of British oil companies in Iraq
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Tony Blair has always maintained that Iraq's oil reserves did not cross his mind in the run-up to the 2003 invasion. But Iraq's abundant oil supplies had certainly crossed the minds of the British energy giant BP. As this newspaper reported yesterday, documents reveal that the oil company discussed Iraq's fossil fuel reserves in considerable detail with government officials in late 2002.
Indeed, BP was pressing for a share of the spoils in the wake of "regime change" in Iraq. When the company feared it was being excluded from agreements made in Washington to carve up access to Iraq's oil supplies, the former trade minister Baroness Symons agreed to lobby the Bush administration on BP's behalf.
This is a significant finding because it casts doubt on Mr Blair's claim that his government was a disinterested party when it came to the question of Iraq's oil wealth.
....
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-how-the-wheels-of-this-misadventure-were-oiled-2269992.html
"casts doubt on"
... LOL
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How the wheels of this misadventure were oiled
Tony Blair was certainly not shy about championing the interests of British oil companies in Iraq
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Tony Blair has always maintained that Iraq's oil reserves did not cross his mind in the run-up to the 2003 invasion. But Iraq's abundant oil supplies had certainly crossed the minds of the British energy giant BP. As this newspaper reported yesterday, documents reveal that the oil company discussed Iraq's fossil fuel reserves in considerable detail with government officials in late 2002.
Indeed, BP was pressing for a share of the spoils in the wake of "regime change" in Iraq. When the company feared it was being excluded from agreements made in Washington to carve up access to Iraq's oil supplies, the former trade minister Baroness Symons agreed to lobby the Bush administration on BP's behalf.
This is a significant finding because it casts doubt on Mr Blair's claim that his government was a disinterested party when it came to the question of Iraq's oil wealth.
....
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-how-the-wheels-of-this-misadventure-were-oiled-2269992.html
"casts doubt on"
... LOL