Perle returns to the scene of the Crime

Perle returns to the scene of the crime
Former Bush administration official seeks cut of Iraqi oil deal

Tom Eley

4 August 2008

uruknet.info...

Richard Perle, the "neocon" defense analyst who played an outspoken role in building the fraudulent case for the invasion of Iraq, is now poised to take a position with a private oil firm working in Iraq and Kazakhstan, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Documents and informants reveal that Perle has held discussions with members of the Kurdistan regional government about oil drilling contracts in northern Iraq. The Kurdish regional government has been handing out lucrative contracts to international concerns in violation of Iraqi national sovereignty, bypassing the Iraqi central government and not awaiting the Washington-crafted national oil law that is expected to be pushed through in the coming months.

According to the Journal, the deal "would involve a tract called K18, near the Kurdish city of Erbil.... A consortium founded by Turkish company AK Group International is seeking rights to drill there, the documents say. Potential backers include two Turkish companies as well as Kazakhstan, according to individuals involved." The Houston-based Endeavour International would then ultimately operate the K18 field.

Involved in the discussions are members of a pro-Turkish lobbying group, the American Turkish Council. Other players include Alexander Mirtchev, described by the Journal as "a Washington consultant and adviser to the government of Kazakhstan." Perle has been an outspoken backer of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is under investigation in the US for oil company bribery from the 1990s. Perle has hailed the corrupt Nazarbayeve as "visionary and wise."

Perle offered only a half-denial to the Wall Street Journal story, claiming in an e-mail that he is "not involved in any consortium involving Mr. Mirtchev...." But he did not deny his involvement in private oil concerns in Iraq or Kazakhstan.

Perle is not the only one profiting from the Kurdish regional government’s readiness to sign no-bid contacts. Hunt Oil, another Texas firm that has close ties with President Bush, last year was awarded a contract with the Kurds in apparent contravention of both Iraqi and US policy, a deal now under State Department investigation after protests by the Iraqi central government. (See "Bush-linked Texas company signs oil deal with Iraqi Kurds")

uruknet.info...






[edit on 4-8-2008 by Dubyakadubla]

Why doesn't this surprise me?

Once a rat, always a rat...

Originally posted by Grey Magic
Why doesn't this surprise me?

Once a rat, always a rat...

Richard Perle, Executioner

Native Americans had an expression for it.

Forked tongue.

www.counterpunch.org...