Michael J. Haber – 11/5/06

This page was last updated on November 5, 2006.

Oil is not well in Iraq; Michael J. Haber; Beaver County Times; November 5, 2006.

In three letters from August 2005 through January 2006, Mr. Haber alleged the Iraq War is a war for oil. In his last letter, Mr. Haber alleged the U.S. armed and supplied Saddam Hussein during the 1980s and early 1990s up to the eve of Desert Storm.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., recently visited Iraq and reported conditions are horrible there and the Iraqi government substandard, but insisted we stay the course.

“He reaffirmed that we need to get money from Iraq’s oil into the hands of the Iraqi people.

“Two years ago, I watched an interview featuring a U.S. Army captain recently returned from Iraq. He made a similar claim, insisting ‘Iraqis won’t pick up an AK-47 and shoot our troops when they see money coming in from Iraq’s wells.’

“This plan, a brainchild of a former Republican governor of Alaska and strongly advocated by billionaire and former unsuccessful Republican presidential nominee Steve Forbes, proposes Iraqis should get oil dividends as Alaskans receive.

“Most Republican leaders in Washington are convinced oil dividends will sway Iraqis toward fighting insurgents who threaten oil production.

“Apparently, some of our troops also have been brainwashed into supporting this idea.

“Warner declares oil revenue needs to get to the Iraqi people before terrorists get it.

“Yet, a recent audit ordered by Warner revealed 14,030 American weapons supplied to Iraqi forces are missing. Terrorists may already be arming themselves without the revenue thanks to us.

“Even if Iraqi citizens receive oil dividends, who will stop them from underhandedly donating to militias or buying weapons to kill our troops?

“Our troops have consistently been killed, averaging at least two per day since 2003. The killed, wounded, and captured now total more than 24,000. There have been billions of dollars spent.

“Still, we seem unable to stabilize a country slightly larger than Kansas and Nebraska combined with a population density comparable to Georgia. The victory plan is to get oil money to every Iraqi so they will love and not kill us. This is the course on which our leaders intend us to stay.”

[RWC] Where does Mr. Haber get the idea this proposal is a central part of our strategy in Iraq? My head’s hardly buried in the sand and I can’t remember the last time I heard this proposal mentioned. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t see a problem with it, but I haven’t heard anyone claim it to be some kind of “magic bullet.”