The news outlet, Agence France-Presse, reported today that dozens of Iraqis held a demonstration in central Baghdad against the proposed Oil Law which would open Iraq’s oil and gas sector to U.S. and other foreign oil companies. The Oil Law has already been approved by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s cabinet and goes for debate next … Read More
War
Iraqi Oil Law Is “Robbery”
Six Nobel Peace Prize laureates have released a statement in opposition to the proposed controversial Iraqi oil law, that some observers believe could go before Parliament as early as this week. The laureates include Betty Williams, Mairead Maguire, Rigoberta Menchu, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi and Wangari Maathai. The statement reads, in part, “The Iraqi oil … Read More
Trouble in the Colonies
The Fourth of July was cool and rainy in Vermont, as it seems to be with surprising regularity. I suppose that’s why my town sets off its fireworks on the evening of July 3rd, which was perfect for pyrotechnics this year. Fireworks finished, I had all day Wednesday to contemplate this year’s version of American … Read More
Climate Change Will Lead to World in Flames
Climate change has become a major security issue that could lead to “a world going up in flames”, Achim Steiner, the head of UNEP has warned. From rising sea levels in the Indian Ocean to the increasing spread of desert in Africa’s Sahel region, climate change will cause new wars across the world, the outlook … Read More
U.S. Military World’s Leading Gas Guzzler
The U.S. Department of Defense is the world’s leading consumer of petroleum, sucking up about 340,000 barrels of oil every day, more than the total national consumption of Sweden or Switzerland.
World Bank President Resigns
After two years as President at the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, architect of the Iraq war, tendered his resignation on Thursday evening. “I have concluded that it is in the best interests of those whom this institution serves for that mission to be carried forward under new leadership,” writes Wolfowitz in a statement posted on … Read More
McCain Warns of Vulnerability of Foreign Oil
In the third of three major policy addresses, Republican presidential candidate, John McCain has talked about the “great and urgent challenge – breaking our nation’s critical dependence on foreign sources of oil”. In a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) McCain warned that America’s “dependency on foreign oil and the way … Read More
Miliband: We Should Focus on Costs of Middle East Oil
The UK Environment Secretary David Miliband has said that dealing with climate change does not only help the environment but bring a “peace dividend” because the world’s “oil dependence creates real danger”. Mr Miliband said it was “right” for a growing movement in the US to push for energy independence in the United States, “focusing … Read More
Al Qaeda Group Urges Attacks Against US Oil Interests
A Saudi Arabian terrorist group affiliated with Al Qaeda has urged Muslim militants to attack oil facilities worldwide, including in Canada, Mexico and Venezuela, to stop the flow of oil to the United States. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said in its monthly magazine posted on an Islamic website that “cutting oil supplies to … Read More
The Battle for Oil-Rich Kirkuk
Interesting piece in today’s LA Times about the struggle for Kirkuk, the oil-rich town in northern Iraq. American officials, regional leaders and residents are increasingly worried that the town could develop into a third front in the country’s civil war. All the different ethnic groups in the region – the Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens are … Read More