The insistence by the US along with allied forces on invading Iraq and ousting the Saddam regime was not out of a desire to benefit the Iraqis. The continued presence of the coalition forces, too, is not aimed at doing any good to Iraq.
The real reason is, without doubt, the enormous wealth and treasures of that country. With a large reservoir of oil, Iraq enjoys a respectable status among the oil producing and exporting countries.
Many might wonder as to what is happening to the oil wealth now. Obviously, it is the strangers who grab the lion’s share as the expenses of keeping the coalition forces in Iraq are rocketing day by day. Coalition forces have claimed that they are there to protect the Iraqi people, but the reality is that they are protecting themselves and helping loot the country’s wealth and treasures.
International news agencies have unearthed organized racketing in oil exports. Fudging in the oil export bills is commonplace as, in most cases, oil tanks are without meters. All these misdeeds are carried out with careful planning by the strangers for whom Iraq have become a milch cow.
As a matter of fact, the looting of Iraq harks back to the time the country was under siege when the oil-for-food scheme was in force. Those who were in charge of the program benefited from it even as Iraqis starved. Several businessmen have confessed to giving bribes to those in charge of the oil-for-food program for getting contracts. In other words, the so-called oil-for-food scheme was nothing short of a gravy train for those who ran it.
The looting of the Iraqi wealth and treasures continues unabated and foreign firms vie with each other to win contracts that are often clinched under the table. The contracts are awarded in such a way that a chunk of them would go to American companies. The award of a contract to Halliburton Company, which was once run by US Vice President Dick Cheney, for an incredible amount of money, is just the tip of the iceberg. Halliburton has confessed that two of its staff had received $6 million for an award of contract to a particular company for the supply of fuel to the US troops in Iraq.
The scramble for contracts comes at a time when the world is facing an economic stagnancy, and therefore, they constitute a lifeline for multinational companies.
Now, Iraq represents a sphere of conflict of interests and looting as well as death and destruction. While the Iraqis fall dead in explosions on a daily basis, the coalition forces take shelter in the so-called Green Zone.
The looting is not limited to oil but includes manuscripts, cultural masterpieces at various museums including the National Museum, which are transferred to other countries.
The pillage of Iraq will continue in one form or the other as long as chaos reigns in that country.
The real intention of the coalition forces is clear from their plan to stay on in Iraq as long as possible. And without doubt, their presence will lead to further looting of Iraq’s treasures and the deterioration of the conditions of the Iraqi people and will put them at risk of death every second.
— Essa bin Mohammed Al-Zedjali is editor in chief of The Times of Oman.
