MIDDLE EAST

WRMEA: The U.S. War on Iraq: Yet Another Battle To Protect Israeli Interests?

Why did President George W. Bush invade Iraq? Some very curious developments in the U.S.-occupied nation are making Iraqis and their Arab neighbors very uneasy as they question Bush's motives. These amazing tales should also infuriate Americans who are beginning to suspect they've been hoodwinked into fighting yet another battle on behalf of Israel.

And now another horrible suspicion is crossing their minds. Did Bush's Israel-first advisers invade Iraq in order to assure that Israel would have easy access to oil?

A March 31 Ha'aretz article reported upcoming plans to reopen a long-unused pipeline from Iraq's Kirkuk oil fields to the Israeli port of Haifa. Israel's National Infrastructure Minister Joseph Paritzky suggested that after Saddam Hussain's departure Iraqi oil could flow to the Jewish state, to be consumed or marketed from there.

According to John Cooley's April 23 article in The Christian Science Monitor, "The idea is economically tempting for Israel and some of its friends, especially those whose firms might profit from such a project. Oil-poor Israel, MEES [Middle East Economic Survey] reports, wants high-quality Kirkuk crude oil for its Haifa refinery. Israeli refineries currently use Russian, West African, Egyptian, and other crude oils.

Nevertheless, according to a Ha'aretz article the following day, "a senior Pentagon official" sent a telegram to a "top Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem" to check the logistics of pumping oil from Iraq to the oil refineries in Haifa and rebuilding the Kirkuk-Mosul-Haifa pipeline. According to the telegram, "The pipeline to Haifa is considered a 'bonus' the U.S. will give to Israel in return for its support for the American-led campaign in Iraq."