Al-Ghad

In Jan. 2005, before the appointment of the new Iraqi government, the IMF agreed to cancel 30 per cent of Iraq’s debt in exchange for Iraqi compliance with IMF conditioned economic policies. Nestled in the fine print, the agreement forces Iraq to pass an oil law be the end of Dec. 2006. (later to be the date set for the sudden execution of Saddam Hussein). Was it by mere chance that the two facts coincided? Perhaps, but then there is the logic to events.

Oil is the Prize of the invasion, losing Iraq’s oil is the real loss of the war. Now the fate of the draft oil law is in the balance. Bush worked hard to have that draft passed by the Iraqi Parliament giving the law a semblance of legitimacy. Securing Iraqi government’s signature on the oil agreement, could well shore up the president position, offering him a chance to claim an important victory.