arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

""The oilfields are the property of the Iraqi people. And if the coalition of forces goes into those oil fields, we would want to protect those fields and make sure they are used to benefit the people of Iraq and are not destroyed or damaged by the failing regime on the way out the door." http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/archive/30-12-19102-1-15-53.html In a report of the Council on Foreign Affairs: "OIL AND IRAQ: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES" >>>Crafting a viable and credible public diplomacy campaign. Western anti-war activists, the Arab public, average Iraqis, and international media have all accused the United States of planning an attack on Iraq not to dismantle weapons of mass destruction but as a camouflaged plan to "steal" Iraq's oil for the sake of American oil interests. Therefore, any efforts to secure Iraq's oil installations and its future production must be clearly and credibly presented as actions taken to protect the country's wealth on behalf of all segments of the Iraqi population. Information about oil production, repairs, future investment, oil exports, and sales must be made transparent and involve both international and Iraqi oversight. The United States should develop a strategy for demonstrating that any military or administrative involvement takes place in conjunction with Iraqi nationals and with international cover, and is designed only to protect the resources of the Iraqi nation. A mechanism should be developed to ensure that all proceeds and activities involving Iraq's oil industry are transparent, public, and remain in the ownership of Iraq's treasury. A model for this exists in the UN's current oil-for-food program and the availability of records on earnings, proceeds, and expenditures." Think tanks doesn't influence?