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India left hits out at government
BBC

Former communist allies of India's government say it has "not been transparent" over a controversial civilian nuclear deal with the US.

Earlier, they formally withdrew support for the government.

The move came after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh vowed to press ahead with the deal.

Communists say the accord could open Indian foreign policy to too much US influence. The government says it is needed to meet soaring energy demands...

...India is under pressure from Washington to sign the accord before the US presidential elections in November.

Under the terms of the accord, India would get access to US civilian nuclear technology and fuel.

In return, Delhi would open its civilian nuclear facilities to inspection - but its nuclear weapons sites would remain off-limits.

(9 July 2008)

The Iraqi Oil Ministry's new fave five
All the oil news that's fit to print (Attn: The New York Times)
Nick Turse, Tom Dispatch

On June 19th, the New York Times broke the story in an article headlined “Deals with Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back: Rare No-Bid Contracts, A Foothold for Western Companies Seeking Future Rewards.” Finally, after a long five years-plus, there was proof that the occupation of Iraq really did have something or other to do with oil. Quoting unnamed Iraqi Oil Ministry bureaucrats, oil company officials, and an anonymous American diplomat, Andrew Kramer of the Times wrote: “Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP… along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields.”

The news caused a minor stir, as other newspapers picked up and advanced the story and the mainstream media, only a few years late, began to seriously consider the significance of oil to the occupation of Iraq.

As always happens when, for whatever reason, you come late to a major story and find yourself playing catch-up on the run, there are a few corrections and blind spots in the current coverage that might be worth addressing before another five years pass. In the spirit of collegiality, I offer the following leads for the mainstream media to consider as they change gears from no-comment to hot-pursuit when it comes to the story of Iraq’s most sought after commodity. I’m talking, of course, about that “sea of oil” on which, as Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz pointed out way back in May 2003, the month after Baghdad fell, Iraq “floats.”

All the News That’s Fit to Print Department

In a June 30th follow-up piece, the Times’s Kramer cited U.S. officials (again unnamed) as acknowledging the following: “A group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up contracts between the Iraqi government and five major Western oil companies…”

In addition, he asserted, this “disclosure… is the first confirmation of direct involvement by the Bush administration in deals to open Iraq’s oil to commercial development and is likely to stoke criticism.” This scoop, however, reflected none of the evidence — long available — of the direct involvement of Bush administration and U.S. occupation officials in Iraq’s oil industry. In fact, since the taking of Baghdad in April 2003, the name of the game has been facilitating relationships between Iraq and U.S.-based and allied Western energy firms when it came to what President Bush used to delicately call Iraq’s “patrimony” of “natural resources.”

Nick Turse is the associate editor and research director of Tomdispatch.com. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Adbusters, the Nation, and regularly for Tomdispatch.com. His first book, The Complex: How the Military Invades Our Everyday Lives, an exploration of the new military-corporate complex in America, was recently published by Metropolitan Books. His website, Nick Turse.com has been newly revamped and expanded.

(7 July 2008)
Also at Common Dreams.

Iran to "hit Tel Aviv, U.S. ships" if attacked
Parisa Hafezi, Reuters
Iran will hit Tel Aviv, U.S. shipping in the Gulf and American interests around the world if it is attacked over its disputed nuclear activities, an aide to Iran's Supreme Leader was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

"The first bullet fired by America at Iran will be followed by Iran burning down its vital interests around the globe," the students news agency ISNA quoted Ali Shirazi as saying in a speech to Revolutionary Guards.
(8 July 2008)
And the rhetoric escalates .... -BA