Turning Iraq into a US protectorate

According to The Independent, the Bush administration is seeking to sign a security agreement with the Iraqi government by the end of next month. The so-called “strategic alliance” gives the US permanent military bases, control of Iraqi airspace and the right to pursue its “war on terror” inside Iraq without consultation with the Iraqi government. The treaty also guarantees legal immunity for all American soldiers and contractors and gives the US military a free hand to arrest anybody it wants.

More important, perhaps, the proposed agreement confirms speculations that the US policy in Iraq has been pursued from the very beginning to justify a permanent military presence in the country. Dissolving the Iraqi army, de-Baathification and dismantling the institutions of the Iraqi state were meant to weaken Iraq and make it dependent on the US for security and protection indefinitely. It also explains why the Bush administration did not have an exit strategy since there was no intention to exit Iraq in the first place.

Bush’s determination to force the Iraqi government to sign the agreement quickly and without modifications is meant also to serve the other pillar of US strategy in Iraq; that is maintaining hegemony over Iraqi oil. Iraq, according to many estimates, has 115 billion barrels of known oil reserves. Other estimates put the figure at 300 billion. If these estimates are anywhere close to the mark, US forces are now sitting on one quarter of the world’s oil resources.

Gulf News