The Charlatan may have extruded his veto power over Congress' timetable for withdrawal, but the Kurds in the Iraqi debating society passing for a national parliament have put what may be the final kibosh on pulling Iraq out of it's fatal disintegration. Anyone analyzing the basis of a possible compromise between the three sides--Sunni, Shia and Kurds--must admit that an arrangement for sharing oil revenues is absolutely key. Iraq is estimated to have proven reserves of 115 billion barrels, making it the world's third largest possessor of petroleum resources. Its the only real wealth the country possesses and is therefore the financial basis for any reconstruction of the destroyed infrastructure, returning desperately needed social services, and rebuilding a shattered economy. Shoring up U.S. political support for the regime's failed occupation is directly dependant on Iraqi progress toward a national reconciliation. Hope of that occurring is being blown away as fast as sand by the hot desert wind.
Kurdish members of parliament announced on Monday their opposition to the technical annexes of the February agreement backed heavily by the U.S. They had agreed to the draft bill, but after looking at the annexes, they pronounced them in violation of the oil law. According to the Kurds, the annexes give control of 93% of the nation's oil reserves to the Iraqi National Oil Company. Kurds only hold 58 seats out of 275 in parliament. But almost all of the oil fields are located in autonomous Kurdistan and the Shia south. As we all know, possession is 9/10ths of the law.