The Guerilla War on Iraqi Oil

A war is raging in Iraq that will determine the outcome of the present occupation as well as the shape of future conflicts. It is the war for control of Iraqi oil.

Currently, America is losing the conflict in stunning fashion with little hope for change in the near future. This week the Iraqi Oil Ministry announced that oil production "has reached a post-war low" and that the "exports of crude, which had run at an average of about 1.6 million barrels per day since the end of the 2003 war, dropped to 1.2 mbpd in November and 1.1 mbpd in December." (Al Jazeera, January 2, 2006) All the indicators point to continuing difficulty with production due to the escalating violence.

At times, the export of oil has been completely cut off in both the northern and southern regions making it impossible to benefit from Iraq's prodigious natural wealth. The Iraqi resistance has grown increasingly skillful in sabotaging pipelines and facilities despite the extraordinary efforts to protect them from attack.

This is truly the face of 21st century warfare: disparate cells of armed guerillas disrupting critical energy supplies that sustain the global economy.

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