Explosions and Other Oil Tragedies in Iraq

I’m haunted by the scene described in today’s Reuters article about an explosion at an oil pipeline in Diwaniya, Iraq. It seems that a pool of oil had formed around leaks in a disused pipeline and local people had waded into the pool to siphon off petrol when suddenly the oil exploded into flames. At least 29 people were killed and scores more injured.

A Reuters journalist on the scene reports seeing 15 charred mutilated bodies lying on the ground in the aftermath of the explosion and a health official explains that many of the wounded have burns on 75 percent of their body. The scene was deeply disturbing in an of itself, but the words of elderly man on the scene further brought home the tragic absurdity of the situation, he said: `The government is to blame for this. It raised the prices of petrol and forced people to do these dangerous things.”

So the US invades Iraq in large part to secure its vast oil reserves. The International Monetary Fund follows and works with the government to end oil subsidies (and you can think of better things the government could be doing with its money than providing blanket subsidies for oil). The Iraqi resistance sabotages oil infrastructure and oil becomes increasing scarce. The price of oil rises, infrastructure falls into disrepair, and people wade into a pool of leaking oil trying to earn some extra money. Then the whole scene goes up in flames. It is a tragic vision of “energy security”, especially if you remind yourself that despite the spiraling violence Iraq pumped a couple million barrels of oil out of the ground yesterday and it will soon be on its way to a gas station near you. Somehow this all seems too twisted for words. It is time to break the addiction.