Another Question for Condi

Before any reporters or politicians are tempted to ask lame questions of the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and thus give her the usual platform to lie about how she wants to spread freedom and democracy in the middle east, perhaps we should remind ourselves of the long-term Production Sharing Agreements "negotiated" on behalf of Iraq by the US administrator Paul Bremmer in 2003 under the direction of the State Department. These gave foreign oil companies access to Iraq's oil for up to 40 years at exceptionally low fixed prices.

A very detailed report published last November that's worth reading is at:
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/2005/crudedesigns.htm

So, the correct question to ask Dr. Rice before she blathers any more nonsense is:
"Does freedom and democracy in Iraq extend to that country's democratic government having the freedom to sell its oil to whom they choose at the price they can get, or will you insist that they respect the long-term PSA contracts with US oil companies that were signed while they were under military occupation?"

To our current batch of world leaders, democracy means nothing more than the participation in the physical action of voting in a polling booth. Actually being able to decide something consequential as a result of voting is not part of the concept.