Tony Blair's secret lucrative advisory job with Iraq oil firm

Typical Blair. Anything to make money. And as a direct result of the invasion Iraq. Unbelievable.

The exact deal is unknown but South Korea-based UI Energy is one of the biggest investors in Iraq's oil-rich Kurdistan. Mr Blair's fee has not been disclosed but is likely to have run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

He successfully persuaded the watchdog committee the work was "market sensitive" and could not be made public. But they published the details this week and also revealed a separate deal Blair had with the Kuwaiti government. This second arrangement had been kept secret at the request of the country's leaders.

www.mirror.co.uk...

Is this not completly unacceptable to everyone?

Blair is not the only high profile name on UI's payroll. Jayne Lyn Stahl writes in Counterpunch.

Not surprisingly, Mr. Blair isn't the only prominent politician on UI's payroll. Others reportedly include former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke, as well as politicians like Congressman Stephen J. Solarz, former secretary of defense Frank Carlucci, former ambassador to Egypt, Nicholas A. Belites, and U.S. Commander for the Middle East General John P. Abizaid. And, these are just the ones who acknowledge any association with the oil conglommerate.

Two-time presidential candidate, Ross Perot, is listed on UI Energy Corp.'s Web site as part of their extended family. One wonders if there are any other presidents, or presidential candidates, who may have been considered family by the South Korean oil firm.

www.counterpunch.com...

Link to UI Energy

www.uienergy.co.kr...

Blair's spokesman reports through the BBC that Blair was vetted by the Committee on Business Appointments and that it was all above board. Both Labour and Tory MP'S are not convinced.

Douglas Carswell, a backbench Tory MP who campaigns for political reform, said Mr Blair's link to UI Energy Corporation "stinks". He told the Daily Mail: "It seems that the former prime minister of the United Kingdom has been in the pay of a very big foreign oil corporation and we have been kept in the dark about it.

"Even now we do not know what he was paid or what the company got out of it. We need that information now.

"This is revolving door politics at its worst. It's not as if Mr Blair has even stepped back from politics, because he is still politically active in the Middle East.

news.bbc.co.uk...

So Tony Blair, the man who advised, twisted, prodded and pushed MP'S and the country to accept the invasion Iraq is now or has been on the payroll of a multi-national making vast amounts of money from Oil exploration in the country.

I could not care less what this committee decided. This is so morally wrong that procedure and rules are irrelavant. Blair claims to be a religious man, a recently converted Catholic, how is what he is doing anything other than grossly immoral?

War Profiteering at its height.

I was recently about 5 foot away from this 'Man' during The Chilcott Inquiry. I regret not voicing my opinion of him.

[edit on 25-3-2010 by Peruvianmonk]

reply to post by Peruvianmonk


I am speechless at the bare face gall of this war criminal and all it amounts to in the end is money for what I see as being a nasty little life that has brought us to such an age of hate.

I absolutely despise this man much more than that lantern jawed buffoon, Brown and generally because he took us to war under the guise of weapons ready to fire from Iraqi soil in under 45 minutes but also because I always knew Blair was a “bad un” just from looking in the man’s eyes way back in the 90’s.

Men and woman, innocent children have died in vast numbers just so this poor excuse for a human being could write his name into history and fill his bank account as an added bonus.

It is hardly surprising he hangs on so tightly to his faith just as those crusader knights did when they hacked at the Muslim - child, man and woman while roaring “god wills it” and “In Jesus name.”

Did Blair really think that we would forget this bile awful lie that he and his slimy gang have fed us back before the invasion and that there will not be a day when this lie will come back on them all because this lie will have them one day I am hopeful?

I am confident that he will not able to keep his freedom long enough to spend these ill gotten gains, this blood money and that his disgrace will be complete. His name and his line will one day be struck from the records I am sure because he is in his own way as bad as the tyrant he helped to depose because unlike that pig Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid who at least was openly upfront about his bloody vileness, wearing it like a badge of honour, this Blair would have us believe that he was a simple servant of the people and just going about his gods work.

Blair the liar, the bloody one would have us believe that he was only ever pursuing peace for us all and that above all he was even sacrificing a piece of himself so that we could remain safe from the ever wraithlike terrorist.

No, this ‘man’ is a true disgrace to the true and noble real example of manhood and I thus have faith in my fellow humanity that by the time this poor excuse for a man has lived his full natural course in this world that he will have been long since brought to account for his utter disgrace and his many crimes against those peoples in the middle east and for the lies, the absolute fraud he perpetrated upon the long suffering British public.

Disgrace Blair, he is a discredit to us all and I hope that he burns in his own personal hell for what he has done – war monger, thief, coward and lord of the sewer! I have read that what you believe ultimately is what you receive when life ends and for Blair I sincerely hope there is a hell and a place set aside for him.

I am so sorry Peruvianmonk to read that you were so close to this dreadful human contaminant and I also hope that you have had the necessary shots to speed you onto a successful recovery from such a nasty close encounter with a true hell bound soul.

Please excuse my total unrestricted disdain, I am very tolerant but this man, politicians and their filthy ilk make my blood boil so much I want to grind my teeth.

reply to post by SmokeJaguar67


Yes well said my man. Another important point is that he is the special envoy of the E.U in the quartet on the Middle East so he hasn't even withdrawn politically from the area.

It was a long day going to see Blair testify at the inquiry and i sat there thinking this guy has been completly corrupted by the hubris of his power. He sat there rabbiting on about the threat of Iran like the neo-con he is as if he was still PM.

The rest of the audience laughed along with him at a couple of comments he made, i just looked around in amazement. It was not funny, not funny at all what he did in Iraq and continues to do.

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk Yes well said my man. Another important point is that he is the special envoy of the E.U in the quartet on the Middle East so he hasn't even withdrawn politically from the area.

That would stand to reason as a corrupted official like this Blair would realise that the longer his claws can keep him politically active in said area then the more contacts he can make to further bulge his ever bulging bank account. His effrontery is staggering in its open disrespect to the real men and woman he has sent to fight and die just so he can further perpetrate the growth of his blood bloated ego - and his pay cheque.

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk It was a long day going to see Blair testify at the inquiry and i sat there thinking this guy has been completly corrupted by the hubris of his power.

Yes indeed and I watched some of it for a time but I saw where it was going early on and due to the easy ride he was receiving I had to switch off and hit the gym very hard. From the minor discomforts he did display however I had hoped that he would have tripped up into a disaster (one minute delay not withstanding) and been hoisted upon his own petard but not to be unfortunately as one thing I will admit about this man is that he is as smooth and as slippery as pond life.

It seemed inevitable that he would be looked upon with some twisted boys club mercy and in a word – let off the hook. I was disappointed to be left feeling disappointed.

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk He sat there rabbiting on about the threat of Iran like the neo-con he is as if he was still PM. The rest of the audience laughed along with him at a couple of comments he made, i just looked around in amazement.

Yes I remember that and I also rolled my eyes at the dumb and even dumber sitting there behind this piece of scum, laughing along as if they thought that their laughter would show that he was not seen by all to be the liar that has cost so many lives. If they wanted laughter perhaps they should have gone to a stand up club in SOHO and perhaps they should have remembered that the man they were laughing along with is partly responsible for this new age of warfare that I suspect could very easily tip over into total war and it yet might!

It is a shame indeed that these chucklers I watched with an open mouth, aghast at the scene did not bear this in mind before opening their respective caverns for a sheep like chortle at this war mongers command.

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk It was not funny, not funny at all what he did in Iraq and continues to do.

Watching stupid people agree and nod and express amusement to the suave vomitus that comes from this socially accomplished individual is never funny – tragic and sycophantic more likely but never funny. I have to suspect that perhaps these people were there for reasons that had much more to do with the need to see themselves on TV rather than to be testament to history as serious witness’ to the well practised explanations of a vile little manthing.

It is people like that who help the few enslave the many in my opinion

Or they could have been planted but to go down that road is to dance a jig with the reptilian king maker so I will just throw that out there in an of the cuff manner





[edit on 25-3-2010 by SmokeJaguar67]

Question for the Brits, is it not against the law for your country's representatives, to take payment from a foreign entity, while in office? Or even any entity except into a campaign fund?

I know our sob's on our side of the pond do it by funneling it through intermediaries, into their campaign coffers. But hell, at least try to do it on the down low and be a little circuitous.

Oh well, if their is one worldly truth, once a politician, morals just tend to fly right out the window.

reply to post by endisnighe


Interesting question. I think yes it is but Blair is no longer a PM, so no longer in the service of the British public.

He is however employed by the E.U, which i suppose you could argue represents the U.K and its citizens as we are a member and pay taxes which must indirectly fund Blair's wage.

He apparently went in front of a board of inquiry ,the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, who felt there was no conflict of interests and gave it the thumbs up.

reply to post by SmokeJaguar67


There were members of the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and even they laughed along. It literally felt like he was PM again.

It was revealed last week that the Metropolitan Police ran up a bill of £273,000 to provide security when former prime minister Tony Blair gave evidence on 29 January.

www.thisislondon.co.uk...

Nice use of tax payers money.

You have to remember that Blair is also an advisor to JP Morgan where it is rumoured he is paid 500,000 and 2.5 million a year.

news.bbc.co.uk...

And is to recieve 5 MILLION POUNDS for his upcoming memoirs, as an advance.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

It used to be common policy in Britain, according to my tutor in History at my university, that once finished in office a civil servant would not profit off publishing or discussing his/her work in office.

Oh he angers me.

[edit on 25-3-2010 by Peruvianmonk]

I am surprised there is not greater discussion on this topic, in particular from the British members on this board.

Are people jut so unsurprised by Blair's actions to a point that it is not worth commenting on?

Anyone wish to defend the former PM?

As a brit, At the time I did have respect for the man. I don't remember any other politicians openly apologising for their decisions when they got it wrong on tv, or having open discussions with members of the public about important issues such as the war.

However, as soon as the war kicked off, the WMD's were never found, and the rumors of the 'sexed up dossier' came about... swiftly followed by the guy who wrote it 'committing suicide' in the woods it all seemed to become very much transparent.

The fact that so many ex commanders, generals, top UN folk and Blair were on the payroll for an oil company who have clearly stated (and this is in their own words) about getting oil from Iraq "that belongs to the US" just goes to show the entire purpose of the war was for oil (and Bushes dadies chance to finally get Sadam), and yet nothing has been done about. How could it possibly be any clearer after the UIENERGY story?

In the UK a lot of us have the opinion of the corrupt US government, CIA, NSA etc being shady as hell (no offence intended to any Americans here... I know the governments actions don't represent the views of the people), but it is only recently that we are beginning to see the same things come out over here with our own governments.

This topic seems to be mentioned very quickly on ATS, yet with all the names and links in here it seems to be a prime target for SERIOUS investigation, as it looks very much to me like the key ingredient for the war in the first place. On a site so rife with raving conspiracy loonies, it baffles me why something that holds so much weight such as this isn't gaining more attention and research.

I'll see what I can find out and hopefully add to this thread in the future.