Nobel Laureates Condemn Iraq Oil Law

You don't hear much about this in our media and, Lord knows, it'll never cross Harpo's sanctimonious lips, but people are beginning to be heard in opposition to the greatest scam of the Iraq War - the Iraq Oil Law crafted by the occupation to transfer control of Iraq's oil and much of its oil wealth to Western (i.e. American) oil companies.

Five Nobel Peace Prize Laureates; Betty Williams, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi and Wangari Maathai; yesterday condemned the coercive law:

"In support of the people of Iraq, we the undersigned Nobel Peace Prize Laureates state our opposition to the Iraq Oil Law. We also oppose the decision of the United States government to require that the Iraq government pass the Oil Law as a condition of continued reconstruction aid in legislation passed on May 24, 2007. A law with the potential to so radically transform the basic economic security of the people of Iraq should not be forced on Iraq while it is under occupation and in such a weak negotiating position vis-à-vis both the U.S. government and foreign oil corporations. The Iraq Oil Law could benefit foreign oil companies at the expense of the Iraqi people, deny the Iraqi people economic security, create greater instability, and move the country further away from peace. The U.S. government should leave the matter of how Iraq will address the future of its oil system to the Iraqi people to be dealt with at a time when they are free from occupation and more able to engage in truly democratic decision-making. It is immoral and illegal to use war and invasion as mechanisms for robbing a people of their vital natural resources."