Iraq Surplus???

[sonar732]

With billions being spent on Iraq by various countries involved, this was an interesting find.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080311/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/08/iraq.main/index.html#cnnSTCText

[Dowly]

The last I checked, it was the western bombs that blew up most of the towns, so naturally it isnt Iraq's problem to pay for it.

[AVGWarhawk]

Iraq is worth billions in oil. They certainly can pay for reconstruction and then some.

[Dowly]

Iraq is worth billions in oil. They certainly can pay for reconstruction and then some.

But why should they? Would you pay if I'd come to your house and wreck it? ;)

[August]

Iraq is worth billions in oil. They certainly can pay for reconstruction and then some.
But why should they? Would you pay if I'd come to your house and wreck it? ;)

So if the fire department knocks out your windows or smashes holes in your ceiling while putting out a fire you think they should pay to repair it?

[Dowly]

Iraq is worth billions in oil. They certainly can pay for reconstruction and then some.
But why should they? Would you pay if I'd come to your house and wreck it? ;)
So if the fire department knocks out your windows or smashes holes in your ceiling while putting out a fire you think they should pay to repair it?

Now, you know that this is a different case. Now, this would apply if the Iraqis asked you to go there and blow up their country, which I'm pretty sure they didnt.

[August]

Now, you know that this is a different case. Now, this would apply if the Iraqis asked you to go there and blow up their country, which I'm pretty sure they didnt.


Really? IIRC there were plenty of expat Iraqi groups wanting our intervention to save them from Saddams tender mercies (which BTW we should have done way back in '91) and secondly Saddam practically begged us to attack him with his constant threats to use WMD and his attacks on coalition forces patrolling the no fly zones?

But seriously how would you react when your enemy constantly violates the cease fire agreement he signed? There's a lot of Europeans who like to pretend that Saddams regime was the best thing since sliced bread but you know in your heart of hearts it's better that he was removed from power.

[AVGWarhawk]

Iraq is worth billions in oil. They certainly can pay for reconstruction and then some.
But why should they? Would you pay if I'd come to your house and wreck it? ;)

I would if they came to save my butt and make it a better country to live in. The oil now belongs to the people. Not just the one.

[PeriscopeDepth]

Iraq is worth billions in oil. They certainly can pay for reconstruction and then some.
But why should they? Would you pay if I'd come to your house and wreck it? ;)
So if the fire department knocks out your windows or smashes holes in your ceiling while putting out a fire you think they should pay to repair it?

That's a pretty generous metaphor...

PD

[AVGWarhawk]

Iraq is worth billions in oil. They certainly can pay for reconstruction and then some.
But why should they? Would you pay if I'd come to your house and wreck it? ;)
So if the fire department knocks out your windows or smashes holes in your ceiling while putting out a fire you think they should pay to repair it?
Home owners insurance friend. :D

[PeriscopeDepth]

With billions being spent on Iraq by various countries involved, this was an interesting find.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080311/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/08/iraq.main/index.html#cnnSTCText

We aren't ever going to see a dime for all the money we spent in that country, IMO. But hey, what's half a trillion or so between friends, right?

PD

[Jimbuna]

I was under the impression that the allies (in particular US companies) had benifitted with pretty huge reconstruction and rebuilding contracts across the country http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/1817/thinkbigsw1yo4.gif

[PeriscopeDepth]

I was under the impression that the allies (in particular US companies) had benifitted with pretty huge reconstruction and rebuilding contracts across the country http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/1817/thinkbigsw1yo4.gif

US companies benefitted. But those companies were paid by the US government. And Iraq has become a black hole financially for the US government, IMO. It just sucks and sucks and sucks...

PD

[Jimbuna]

I was under the impression that the allies (in particular US companies) had benifitted with pretty huge reconstruction and rebuilding contracts across the country http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/1817/thinkbigsw1yo4.gif

US companies benefitted. But those companies were paid by the US government. And Iraq has become a black hole financially for the US government, IMO. It just sucks and sucks and sucks...

PD

Yeah, so it would appear :yep:

[Friedmann]

Wasn't Colin Powell who told Bush that if you break Iraq you've bought it?

Am I missing something or do both articles not mention how large the actual surplus is?

[DeepIron]

And Iraq has become a black hole financially for the US government, IMO. The fiscal burden of the prosecution of the Iraqi war has risen by over 155% since it started...:down: and there is no end in sight. Latest estimates put the monthly financial burden at something like $12 Billion/mo...

Just another source to take a look at: http://zfacts.com/p/447.html

"If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem." — George W. Bush, Jan. 2001.
Talk about a self-fulfilling prophesy...

[GlobalExplorer]

So if the fire department knocks out your windows or smashes holes in your ceiling while putting out a fire you think they should pay to repair it?

I call BS.

There's a lot of Europeans who like to pretend that Saddams regime was the best thing since sliced bread but you know in your heart of hearts it's better that he was removed from power.

That's not true. No one in europe regrets that Saddam was removed from power, and there was hardly anyone complaining when he was executed, in spite of the european view on the death penalty.

---

To get back to topic, in the end I think Iraq will have to pay for the reconstruction, and fortunately they will have the money. Oil exports will open up a whole lot of new opportunities, and there will be lots of international support, so in that respect it doesn't look so bad I think.

[AVGWarhawk]

So if the fire department knocks out your windows or smashes holes in your ceiling while putting out a fire you think they should pay to repair it?
I call BS.

There's a lot of Europeans who like to pretend that Saddams regime was the best thing since sliced bread but you know in your heart of hearts it's better that he was removed from power.
That's not true. No one in europe regrets that Saddam was removed from power, and there was hardly anyone complaining when he was executed, in spite of the european view on the death penalty.

---

To get back to topic, in the end I think Iraq will have to pay for the reconstruction, and fortunately they will have the money. Oil exports will open up a whole lot of new opportunities, and there will be lots of international support, so in that respect it doesn't look so bad I think.


I agree here. Iraq is oil rich. From what I hear, their electricity is free. If anything, perhaps the US will see returns in oil at better prices then the US is seeing now per barrell

[bradclark1]

I agree here. Iraq is oil rich. From what I hear, their electricity is free. If anything, perhaps the US will see returns in oil at better prices then the US is seeing now per barrell
If they can get it out. http://www.iags.org/iraqpipelinewatch.htm

[AVGWarhawk]

I agree here. Iraq is oil rich. From what I hear, their electricity is free. If anything, perhaps the US will see returns in oil at better prices then the US is seeing now per barrell If they can get it out. http://www.iags.org/iraqpipelinewatch.htm


I'm sure they can get it out. If we recall a few years ago, everyone was saying this war was about oil. OK, they have fat tanks of it and fat reserves. I honestly do not see the US saying,"OK, you are free now and we are going home, have fun." I see the US saying, "We want to bring home a momento of our hard work and lives of our men and women. I think billions of gallons of oil would be just swell".

[Jimbuna]

I agree here. Iraq is oil rich. From what I hear, their electricity is free. If anything, perhaps the US will see returns in oil at better prices then the US is seeing now per barrell

It may well be that the population in our respective countries would benefit similarly......if only so few of them had access to it ;)

[DeepIron]

I see the US saying, "We want to bring home a momento of our hard work and lives of our men and women. I think billions of gallons of oil would be just swell".

Add to that, "We'd also like get a lease on some land for a couple small ground and air commands, along with some ocean front property for the Navy. Never can be too sure about your neighbors."

[AVGWarhawk]

I see the US saying, "We want to bring home a momento of our hard work and lives of our men and women. I think billions of gallons of oil would be just swell".
Add to that, "We'd also like get a lease on some land for a couple small ground and air commands, along with some ocean front property for the Navy. Never can be too sure about your neighbors."

Good point! Beach front property to park our hardware!

[GlobalExplorer]

I see the US saying, "We want to bring home a momento of our hard work and lives of our men and women. I think billions of gallons of oil would be just swell".

Add to that, "We'd also like get a lease on some land for a couple small ground and air commands, along with some ocean front property for the Navy. Never can be too sure about your neighbors."

Add to that we also have some great ideas for your constitution like a power to veto new laws an such.

[geetrue]

I say lets steal it ... all we have to do is get it over here, right?

One million barrels of crude oil equals = $109,000,000,000 USD

modern oil tanker (http://www.bakrinavigation.com/en/types_of_modern_oil_tanker.aspx)

Suezmax tankers are in the size range of 120,000 to 200,000 DWT and are generally identified as ships capable of lifiting one million barrels of crude oil.

No US flag oil tankers makes it harder to steal that much oil, but Russia had a plan ten years ago that is now very affordable.

Russian submarine oil tanker


04:22 PM ET 08/11/98 (from InfoBeat)
MOSCOW, Aug 11 (Reuters) - It may sound like science fiction but the first nuclear-powered underwater oil tanker could soon be a reality,
cruising from Russia under the Arctic ice cap.
A Russian naval architect who designed nuclear submarines for the Soviet navy said on Tuesday his firm had already won interest in its blueprints from companies
wanting to transport oil from northern Russia to Japan under the frozen polar sea. Boris Dronov, a chief designer at the Malakhit design bureau in St Petersburg,
said the first 30,000-tonne submarine -- about the capacity of a medium-sized surface oil tanker --
could be launched within four years if a sale can be clinched this year.

``The era of ice-breakers is coming to an end, underwater tankers are an all-weather transport and can carry oil and gas all the year round,'' he said.

Russia's Arctic north coast, close to many of its biggest oil and gas fields, is ice-bound for most of the year.

Dronov said the company has several designs capable of carrying 10,000, 20,000 or 30,000 tonnes at speeds of 19 to 21.5 knots up to 400 km (250 miles) offshore.

He said it was envisaged that the new tanker could deliver oil and gas from Russia's northern Yamal peninsula to western Europe and Japan, South Korea and other big Asian consumers.

``We abandoned an idea of using decommissioned nuclear submarines for carrying oil and other fuel, and our newly-designed tanker is completely different,'' Dronov said.

``Only superficially does it look like a submarine.''

[PeriscopeDepth]

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1251345620080313?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0