By Paul Bignell, The Independent, April 19, 2011
Reuters A British Army soldier investigates a large fire near Basra’s Shuiba refinery
Reuters A British Army soldier investigates a large fire near Basra’s Shuiba refineryPlans to exploit Iraq’s oil reserves were discussed by government ministers and the world’s largest oil companies the year before Britain took a leading role in invading Iraq, government documents show.
Graphic: Iraq’s burgeoning oil industry
The papers, revealed here for the first time, raise new questions over Britain’s involvement in the war, which had divided Tony Blair’s cabinet and was voted through only after his claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
The minutes of a series of meetings between ministers and senior oil executives are at odds with the public denials of self-interest from oil companies and Western governments at the time.
Continues >>
Graphic: Iraq’s burgeoning oil industry
The papers, revealed here for the first time, raise new questions over Britain’s involvement in the war, which had divided Tony Blair’s cabinet and was voted through only after his claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
The minutes of a series of meetings between ministers and senior oil executives are at odds with the public denials of self-interest from oil companies and Western governments at the time.
Continues >>
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