the US is currently looting Iraq. seeing Chevron, Space X, and other US corporations pick up $60 billion worth of contracts in the country, we have to remember that the US has controlled Iraq's access to it's own oil revenue since the 2003 US led invasion. revenues that it will cut off if Iraq doesn't play ball
Following the invasion of Iraq, the US occupation of the country became a reality after the collapse of Saddamโs government. Faced with a fait accompli, the UN Security Council had to accept the new status quo.
According to International Humanitarian Law, occupation forces โ in this case, the US and UK โ become responsible for the well-being of the populations they occupy. So, UNSC Resolution 1483 was issued on 22 May 2003 to establish the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) as Iraqโs administrator and create the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) to manage Iraqi oil revenues.
Note that Resolution 1483 did not mention the US Federal Reserve as the depositary of Iraqi funds, nor did it assign a location for the DFI headquarters or account. In fact, the resolution specifically states directed that the DFI should โbe held by the Central Bank of Iraq.โ It was the CPA, led by Paul Bremer, that decided unilaterally to house the account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
This decision allowed the US government to maintain tight control over Iraqโs oil revenues. From that point until today, the Iraqi Ministry of Finance has had to submit requests for funds to the US Treasury, which then approves or denies these requests based on its own criteria.
This monthly transfer of US dollars โ which are literally flown into Baghdad in pallets of hard cash โ determines Iraq and its 40-million-populationโs ability to pay for basic needs like salaries, food, and medicine.
Whenever Washington feels that Iraq is not compliant with US regional goals, these fund transfers can be delayed or reduced. In January 2020, for instance, after the Iraqi Parliament voted to expel US troops following the assassination of Iranian Quds Force General Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Deputy Commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Trump administration threatened to freeze Iraqโs access to its oil revenues.
Today, Iraqโs financial situation remains dire. Despite having oil revenues piling up in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York โ estimated today at around $120 billion โ Iraq is burdened with a growing debt that matches this amount.
part of the new contracts is the restoring of an Iraq-Syria oil pipeline to bypass Hormuz
