PrintJune 25, 2007
China sees the light, why can't we?
What do the Chinese see in Iraq that apparently the left and the antique media do not see, or choose to ignore? Simple; the country-wide offensive operation, a.k.a., the "surge" is working to the extent that the Chinese think that the future security situation will improve to the point of promoting a stable economic environment.
The Financial Times reported this weekend that Iraq and China have resurrected a Saddam-era contract to have a Chinese oil company to develop the al-Ahdab oil field. It is the first oil field to be offered to investors since Operation Iraqi Freedom, and it had an estimated pre-war capacity of 90,000 barrels a day.
Iraqi oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani, also said,
"Baghdad welcomed Chinese oil company bids for any other contract in the country through a "fair and transparent bidding process" to be laid out in the new oil law under discussion in Iraq's parliament."
It's good for Iraq that someone has finally recognized that security is the core principal from which everything else flows when trying to get a country back on its feet. This was Ambassador Bremer's top priority from day one when he assumed duties as the Country Administrator. Yet, it was difficult to bring this about with a US military more anxious to turn things over to an immature Iraqi government and its nascent security force, and who were in no condition to protect Iraq's primary revenue source much less go on the offense against a determined enemy.
Not only were Baathist diehards and insurgents busy sabotaging oil facilities and pipelines, but according to then-commander of CENTCOM, General John Abizaid, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy continued to buy high speed missile boats, torpedo fast attack craft, and midget submarines to shut off the Strait of Hormuz to oil shipments. These preparations were in addition to the small boat attacks against Iraqi off-shore oil terminals near the Al-Faw Peninsula in the Spring of 2004.
Several issues come to mind with this development, not the least of which is what took us so long to take the fight to the enemy, and why isn't the administration shouting the obvious success (so far) of our offensive operation? Now that the "surge" is working, the Chinese of all people see the light at the end of the tunnel, and they are also being extremely far sighted in terms of locking up long-term oil deals -with crisp US dollars.
Woe be to those US and European companies who had no faith in Iraq's future, but whose bosses will be likely pounding their collective heads on the boardroom table in a few years for letting this jewel slip away.
