Democrats call for Investigation into Iraq Oil Deals

Four Democratic senators, including Senator Carl Levin have called on the State Department’s inspector general to investigate whether the agency encouraged lucrative oil deals between Iraq and several Western companies.

Any back-room meddling would violate US administration policy, which was to discourage the business dealings until Baghdad passed the controversial Oil law, which has been stalled for over a year.

“We are concerned that U.S. policy regarding these oil contracts has not been clearly defined, communicated, or consistently implemented by the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan Regional Government and international oil companies seeking to do business in Iraq,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Harold Geisel, the State Department’s acting inspector general.

Last week, Levin asked Stephen Hadley, the president’s national security adviser, to respond to press reports that State Department employees had advised Iraq on no-bid technical contracts.

Don’t hold your breath for a quick response…