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Page added on August 12, 2014
Oil and Erbil
To the defense of Erbil: this was the main cause that drew President Obama back to combat in Iraq last week, two and a half years after he fulfilled a campaign pledge and pulled the last troops out.
After Mazar-i-Sharif, Nasiriyah, Kandahar, Mosul, Benghazi, and a score of other sites of American military intervention—cities whose names would have stumped most American “Jeopardy!” contestants before 2001—we come now to Erbil. One can forgive the isolationist: Where?
Erbil has an ancient history, but, in political-economic terms, the city is best understood these days as a Kurdish sort of Deadwood, as depicted in David Milch’s HBO series about a gold-rush town whose antihero, Al Swearengen, conjures up a local government to create a veneer of legitimacy for statehood, all to advance his rackets. Erbil is an oil-rush town where the local powers that be similarly manipulate their ambiguous sovereignty for financial gain—their own, and that of any pioneer wild and wily enough to invest money without having it stolen.
Erbil is the capital of the oil-endowed Kurdish Regional Government, in northern Iraq. There the United States built political alliances and equipped Kurdish peshmerga militias long before the Bush Administration’s invasion of Iraq, in 2003. Since 2003, it has been the most stable place in an unstable country. But last week, well-armed guerrillas loyal to the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, threatened Erbil’s outskirts, forcing Obama’s momentous choice. (The President also ordered air operations to deliver humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of Yazidis and other non-Muslim minorities stranded on remote Mount Sinjar. A secure Kurdistan could provide sanctuary for those survivors.)
“The Kurdish region is functional in the way we would like to see,” Obama explained during a fascinating interview with Thomas Friedman published on Friday. “It is tolerant of other sects and other religions in a way that we would like to see elsewhere. So we do think it is important to make sure that that space is protected.”
All true and convincing, as far as it goes. Kurdistan is indeed one of a handful of reliable allies of the United States in the Middle East these days. Its economy has boomed in recent years, attracting investors from all over and yielding a shiny new international airport and other glistening facilities. Of course, in comparison to, say, Jordan or the United Arab Emirates, Kurdistan has one notable deficit as a staunch American ally: it is not a state. Nor is it a contented partner in the construction of Iraqi national unity, which remains the principal project of the Obama Administration in Iraq. In that light, Obama’s explanation of his casus belli seemed a little incomplete.
Obama’s advisers explained to reporters that Erbil holds an American consulate, and that “thousands” of Americans live there. The city has to be defended, they continued, lest ISIS overrun it and threaten American lives. Fair enough, but why are thousands of Americans in Erbil these days? It is not to take in clean mountain air.
ExxonMobil and Chevron are among the many oil and gas firms large and small drilling in Kurdistan under contracts that compensate the companies for their political risk-taking with unusually favorable terms. (Chevron said last week that it is pulling some expatriates out of Kurdistan; ExxonMobil declined to comment.) With those oil giants have come the usual contractors, the oilfield service companies, the accountants, the construction firms, the trucking firms, and, at the bottom of the economic chain, diverse entrepreneurs digging for a score.
Scroll the online roster of Erbil’s Chamber of Commerce for the askew poetry of a boom town’s small businesses: Dream Kitchen, Live Dream, Pure Gold, Events Gala, Emotion, and where I, personally, might consider a last meal if trapped in an ISIS onslaught, “Famous Cheeses Teak.”
It’s not about oil. After you’ve written that on the blackboard five hundred times, watch Rachel Maddow’s documentary “Why We Did It” for a highly sophisticated yet pointed journalistic take on how the world oil economy has figured from the start as a silent partner in the Iraq fiasco.
Of course, it is President Obama’s duty to defend American lives and interests, in Erbil and elsewhere, oil or no. Rather than an evacuation of citizens, however, he has ordered a months-long aerial campaign to defend Kurdistan’s status quo, on the grounds, presumably, that it is essential to a unified Iraq capable of isolating ISIS. Yet the status quo in Kurdistan also includes oil production by international firms, as it might be candid to mention. In any event, the defense of Kurdistan that Obama has ordered should work, if the Kurdish peshmerga can be rallied and strengthened on the ground after an alarming retreat last week.
Yet there is a fault line in Obama’s logic about Erbil. The President made clear last week that he still believes that a durable government of national unity—comprising responsible leaders of Iraq’s Shiite majority, Kurds, and Sunnis who are opposed to ISIS—can be formed in Baghdad, even if it takes many more weeks beyond the three months of squabbling that have already passed since the country’s most recent parliamentary vote.
The project of a unified Baghdad government strong enough to defeat ISIS with a nationalist Army and then peel off Sunni loyalists looks increasingly like a pipe dream; it was hard to tell from the Friedman interview what odds Obama truly gives the undertaking.
Why has political unity in Baghdad proven so elusive for so long? There are many important reasons—the disastrous American decision to disband the Iraqi Army, in 2003, and to endorse harsh de-Baathification, which created alienation among Sunnis that has never been rectified; growing sectarian hatred between Shiites and Sunnis; the infection of disaffected Sunnis with Al Qaeda’s philosophy and with cash and soft power from the Persian Gulf; interference by Iran; the awkwardness of Iraq’s post-colonial borders, and poor leadership in Baghdad, particularly under Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. But another reason of the first rank is Kurdish oil greed.
During the Bush Administration, adventurers like Dallas-headquartered Hunt Oil paved the way for ExxonMobil, which cut a deal in Erbil in 2011. Bush and his advisers could not bring themselves to force American oil companies such as Hunt to divest from Kurdistan or to sanction non-American investors. They allowed the wildcatters to do as they pleased while insisting that Erbil’s politicians negotiate oil-revenue sharing and political unity with Baghdad. Erbil’s rulers never quite saw the point of a final compromise with Baghdad’s Shiite politicians—as each year passed, the Kurds got richer on their own terms, they attracted more credible and deep-pocketed oil companies as partners, and they looked more and more like they led a de-facto state. The Obama Administration has done nothing to reverse that trend.
And so, in Erbil, in the weeks to come, American pilots will defend from the air a capital whose growing independence and wealth has loosened Iraq’s seams, even while, in Baghdad, American diplomats will persist quixotically in an effort to stitch that same country together to confront ISIS.
Obama’s defense of Erbil is effectively the defense of an undeclared Kurdish oil state whose sources of geopolitical appeal—as a long-term, non-Russian supplier of oil and gas to Europe, for example—are best not spoken of in polite or naïve company, as Al Swearengen would well understand. Life, Swearengen once pointed out, is often made up of “one vile task after another.” So is American policy in Iraq.
21 Comments on "Oil and Erbil"
Davy on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 5:59 am
Well, just want to mention the Deadwood mention because I am watching the series as we speak. I have the complete 3 season series. I watch it every now and then. Great flick. If you would like a realistic reproduction of 19th century frontier it is a good source albeit with Hollywood fantasy story. I guess the Yankton c**ksuckers could be Baghdad. George Hearst could be ISIL coming in to camp to take over all the gold operations. Seth Bullock could be the US being the tough man with idealistic right and wrong notions. Seth becomes educated to the reality of a wild west Deadwood where “law and order” means “tough”. Anyway why does American MSM articles bother me? Could it be the smugness of these east coast degenerates? I am American but I despise my countries journalists. Talk about a bunch of whores. I mentioned whores because that is the other part of Deadwood. I am still trying to fit in the whiskey???? Into the Erbil discussion.
Arthur on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 8:29 am
I’m amazed that my diesel still costs merely 1.40€/liter. With ISIS creating havoc in Iraq and the EU trying to smash the windows of the only reliable gasstation it had, Russia, this could change fairly soon.
Arthur on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 8:34 am
“Could it be the smugness of these east coast degenerates?”
Lol. Every night when I switch off my computer at 23:30 I watch two episodes of ‘Cheers’, not Deadwood. It is Boston/East Coast, but with an acceptable level of ‘degeneracy’.
Northwest Resident on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 10:14 am
“Why has political unity in Baghdad proven so elusive for so long?”
I’m sure that it has nothing at all to do with the fact that there are three extreme religious tribal factions involved, all of which hate each other passionately, would like to just kill each other as they have been doing for ages, and are now squeezed all together against the wall of rapidly depleting resources which gives them even better reasons to hate and/or kill each other. But other than that, sure, why can’t they all just get along and make a nice big happy country?
JuanP on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 11:21 am
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/08/12/my-moneys-on-putin/
This is an interesting perspective of what’s going on in Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine. Very informative, not MSM view.
Northwest Resident on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 12:05 pm
JaunP — That IS a very interesting article. Full of juicy and at least partially substantiated accusations against American war-and-chaos mongering as “the Obama administration” ruthless maneuvers to suppress wanna-be global powers that might challenge their own.
While I have no doubt that what we are looking at in the many facts brought up by this article are “TPTB games”, the article loses a little credibility with me because it claims “the Obama administration is going to do whatever it thinks is necessary to stop further EU-Russia economic integration and to preserve the petrodollar system.”
But Obama is just the guy following orders. The games being played have been in the making for many years, long before Obama became president. I’m not saying this to try to defend/protect Obama, just to point out that Obama is NOT the one making the plans or putting them into action — he’s just the current temporary employee in the White House who’s face gets put on all the shenanigans going on.
I also lose respect for this article because nowhere does the writer integrate the undeniable issues of peak oil and near-term economic collapse on a global scale into his web of accusations and conspiracy-mongering. We need to look at everything that is going on in the ME countries against the backdrop of the rapidly approaching global meltdown — the one that is going to happen regardless of whether or not Russia/China/Iran or others drop the stupid dollar or not.
This article is correct in one regard — oil IS power, and no doubt TPTB are making a lot of strategic moves on a global basis to acquire and secure oil supplies — who cares who dies in the process, this is all about survival of the fittest, the resource wars have never ended, and now they are starting to really heat up again.
But that was a very interesting read, JuanP! Thanks for posting.
P.S. I think I’m going with perlite instead of vermiculite. Much less expensive, and seems to be just as good. Agree?
JuanP on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 12:46 pm
Perlite does not hold or retain water or nutrients or promote root growth like vermiculite does. It serves only one purpose, to make the soil fluffier, lighter, and less dense. It is not comparable to Vermiculite at all.
From my point of view going through the trouble of mixing in the perlite is ok, but is no replacement to vermiculite. I have used perlite in the past for years, but I don’t use it on raised food gardens anymore. It is great at what it does, though, to fluff up the soil, and very useful for flower beds and pots in normal landscaping.
Your crops will grow better and you will need less water, seeds, and nutrients forever if you use Vermiculite instead of Perlite. So your garden would be more expensive and less productive forever, otherwise.
It would cost you many times your savings over time in lost labor, produce, and resources because of lower soil quality, IMO.
JuanP on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 1:01 pm
NWR, you can always try them in one bed or a section to compare, and do your beds one at a time.
And if you are mixing in Vermiculite, adding peat, and perlite in a mix is OK. You want to keep a balance between the organic and mineral ingredients, like one third perlite and vermiculite, one third peat, one third soil and compost.
I would skip the perlite and only add vermiculite, peat, and compost, one bed at a time. Vermiculite and/or perlite should never be more than 50% of the total mix volume because of diminishing returns.
It is very, very important to break all clumps and mix things in completely, a lot of hard work, but if done well, you’ll never have to do it again. After this all you need is regular compost sprinkling on top of your beds. This system is good for small gardens, not farmers.
Davy on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 1:01 pm
Juan, I took your advice and G’s the other day and purchased Vermiculite. I am curious on mix ratios?
Davy on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 1:10 pm
Thanks Juan, got it.
Northwest Resident on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 1:33 pm
JuanP — OK. Vermiculite it is, even if that stuff does cost a nice chunk of change. Especially with about 1000 square feet of raised planters. Getting a 50/50 mix is out of the question for me, but I’m going to see how 2 cubic feet of vermiculite per every 16 square feet of raised planter area does — it will most certainly help, probably a lot. Also, I am going to be planting rye in most of my raised planters this September, then “plowing” it under next March as “green manure”. Rye supposedly is excellent at developing deep root systems in hard soil and really breaking up the hard packed silt. That, with loads of autumn leaves mixed in along with a bunch of vermiculite will definitely be a huge improvement. Stay tuned — I’ll let you know how it works out. Thanks for the feedback!
JuanP on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 1:35 pm
Davy, I think you will be impressed in time. Don’t work more than you have to. The top six to eight inches are the most important for most crops. You can make a bed or some sections of some beds deeper for crops that require it only. Sort your beds accordingly to save resources. Any questions, ask.
JuanP on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 1:57 pm
Nwr, the easiest way is to see it as a two inch layer. For 1,000sf, you would need like 168cf at $10 each, that’s like $1,700. I think that would be too much too soon, and not because of the $. And an awful lot of work to mix in one go. If I were you, I would consider doing this on less than 200sf and planting those beds using the SFG system, but doing it very well. In your situation it is probably best to combine two different gardening systems. Some raised beds with row crops for cereals and some other crops and Mel Bartholomew’s “Square Foot Gardening” on a couple of beds for your more demanding crops. You should watch videos on YouTube explaining his system before deciding what to do. Mel Bartholomew’s book is in my night table, and I highly recommend it for all beginning food gardeners. It took me painful decades to learn what’s on that book. It is a great starting guide for experimenting with gardening systems.
JuanP on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 2:01 pm
Nwr, but the plan you have sounds very good, too, and a good option. You won’t regret the expense after your first harvest.
farmboy on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 3:47 pm
Recently I was given a book; The Farm as Ecosystem, by Jerry Brunetti and I highly recommend it, to me its like reading the top 10% of the articles in Acres USA in a nutshell. IT gave me a way more complete understanding of how soil, plants, and animals (including the ones we cant see) all work together to produce life in abundance, diversity, and quality; if we are willing to work with nature. Also as I understand more it helps me make better financial decisions on the farm.
This is now my 4th year of really pursuing a more holistic and natural way of raising food, and every year gets better. For example this is now the first year that I can raise a good annual forage with less than 15 lbs per acre of chemical nitrogen 0 potassium an 0 phosphorus inputs. And don’t get me started on the garden which we’ve been working on for the last 7 years.
I know this turned out to sound like bragging, so just take it as a boost to your confidence in the potential power of nature, and that it can be harnessed for our benefit. The intricacy, complexity, inter connectedness,and completeness in nature is just awesome and to me a strong indicator of a creator.
JuanP on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 4:34 pm
Nwr, this is the book I recommend as an addition to the mini farming one I know you’ve got.
http://www.amazon.com/Square-Foot-Gardening-Second-Revolutionary/dp/1591865484/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407879083&sr=1-11&keywords=Grow+food+garden
Davy on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 5:01 pm
Farmboy, if it is not a privacy thing tell me what part of the US you are in. I am guessing Midwest somewhere. I am pursuing the same farming approach you are mentioning. I am in the MO Ozarks near Rolla, Mo. I am engaged in grass fed cattle, garden, and habitat management on 400 acres promoting deer, turkey, rabbit, and quail. We harvest a little timber for firewood. We have two nice fishing lakes and one spring.
farmboy on Tue, 12th Aug 2014 9:56 pm
Davy Southwest Michigan I only get to manage 43 acres, fairly sandy soil, most of my neighbors irrigate and raise seedcorn for Pioneer and Monsanto so that makes for expensive land prices and rental rates. I stay here because of family, and probably end up making for more interesting talk for the farmers at the coffee shop. I lambed 100 Katahdin ewes (bred to a Texel) in May and have 170 lambs surviving so far; some will be finished on grass and the rest will just be finished on pasture supplemented with wheat bran/ midds. I move the sheep to new pasture like either once or twice a day depending on what they are grazing. and returning to that pasture again in like 20 to 45 days.
240 free range hens and 180 free range egglayer ducks, and maybe like 250 geese.
this year I also planted something like 5000 mostly seedling trees and shrubs. apples pears mulberries hazels chestnuts walnuts cranberries gooseberries pawpaws plums etc. So believe it or not, between hanging out on this site and some others and 40 acres is about all I get done.
So are you also finishing your beef on grass? direct marketing? Get the Grass Farmer Magazine? I would have liked to attend the Grassfed Exchange this summer like 2.5 hours North of you; but guess I’ll just have to make do with the video recordings.
Davy on Wed, 13th Aug 2014 6:14 am
FarmB, I love Michigan. I never realized how beautiful the state is. Detroit gives Michigan a bad name. I was just there a few weeks ago in Charlevoix, Michigan. My father has heart and lung issues so mom want to summer up in Michigan. I think they found a house to buy in Harbor Springs. I flew back in a small plane at 4500 feet so I took in the farms from a good vantage. I probably flew near your place. I was impressed with the cherry/apple/blueberry orchards around Traverse City area. The Lake is phenomenal especially Sleeping Bear area.
Well, I am small operation now mostly prepping the place for cattle. I hope to eventually maybe have 16 head of Angus. I am working on an orchard, chickens, and garden and timber wood lots. My job is habitat management, maintenance of our buildings, and recreational efforts. I am rehabilitating our fences and fields some of which were let to grow up in brush. I am being paid by the family for this but don’t need the money having bailed on the 1%er life with a bronze parachute (not gold). I am retired but work long hours with farm chores. Like you said no time for much else but farming. The good thing is I love what I do so it is not work but passion. My one fear is injuries since I participate in 3 of the top 10 most dangerous job descriptions of forestry, building maintenance, and heavy equipment. We have exceptional deer, turkey, rabbit, and quail hunting on our 400 acres. I see wildlife daily. I don’t hunt for spiritual reasons but have no problem with managed hunting. My personal passion is prepping with long term/short term lifeboat building. This site is a sources of companionship and learning for me. I have my kids to the farm every other week and my girlfriend every weekend so during the week I am alone. This site allows me some connection with the real issues facing us. I am glad to know you and if you ever down Missouri way look me up. I am impressed with your description of your farm.
farmboy on Wed, 13th Aug 2014 8:52 am
I agree Michigan is loaded with natural beauty especially as you get north of Grand Rapids. Traverse bay area is a real gem. It’s also a leader in local/ grassfed/ sustainable lifestyle. I think you would find the Grassfarmer Magazine quite valuable in finding cattle with calm disposition, and with the genetics to be able to finish well on grass.
If you have been looking for a younger person with some energy and knowhow with cattle, and building fence and handling facilities that you could hire or better yet partner with, you could likely find some leads in the Grassfarmer Magazine, at The Grassfed Exchange, Or by picking up the phone and talking with leaders like Greg Judy,Joel Salatin etc. that have interned a number of young people on their operations. When it comes to managing livestock to enhance wildlife I think of Allan Savory.
Back when I worked in the factory I used to spend a fair amount of time hunting but now with the farm I just don’t get around to it. unless I have coon or fox problems.
Davy on Wed, 13th Aug 2014 9:10 am
Thanks for info FarmB, I am a passionate follower of Salatin. I have heard elsewhere I need to get Grassfarmer mag. FarmB, Between you and Juan my Amazon account is going up buying all those recommended reads.