June 30th 2009 – the day on which occupying combat troops have left the Iraqi cities and handed over the control to Iraqi security forces. However, it is more or less only symbolic as US advsiors will keep on working in Iraq as well as US forces will patrol the cities along with the Iraqi forces.

It is a coincidence that this very day Iraq has auctioned off some of the country’s largest oil fields to companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron and British Petroleum. Is it not a reminder of the real motives for the 2003 invasion? The invasion resulted in deaths of over one million Iraqis and 4,634 American and other Western troops. The Iraq war was, and continues to be, an imperialist war waged by the American ruling elite for control of oil and geo-strategic advantage.

As written by James Cogan

In an apt analogy, Larry Goldstein of the US-based Energy Policy Research Foundation told the New York Times last week: “Asking why oil companies are interested in Iraq is like asking why robbers rob banks—because that’s where the money is.” Iraq’s total oil reserves are estimated to be at least 115 billion barrels. Its reserves of natural gas are at least 3.36 billion cubic metres.

 

Millions of people around the world understood in 2003 that the claims of the Bush administration and its international allies about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and links to terrorism were threadbare lies promulgated to justify the plunder of the country’s oil wealth. The claim by the Obama White House that it is continuing the occupation to consolidate “Iraqi democracy” is also a lie.

One can hope that this day will mark a new beginning of Iraq’s history and will bring long awaited political, financial and social stability.