Monday, March 12, 2007

Three cheers for Iraq's new hydrocarbon law. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine

Three cheers for Iraq's new hydrocarbon law. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine: "One would like to know, of those who advocate leaving Iraq, whether they are happy to abandon the control of its fabulous wealth to be parceled out between the highest or most ruthless bidders—say, al-Qaida in Anbar, the Turks in the north, and the fans of Ahmadinejad in the south? Or might it be better to have even an imperfect federal democracy that could be based not just on ideals but on an actual material footing? A country that might, over time, undercut the power currently exerted by Saudi Arabia and Iran? I only ask. And it's no good chanting 'no blood for oil' at me, because oil is the lifeblood here, and everybody knows it and always has."