Libya and Oil

[GarfieldtheCat]

Apparently, with oil getting so expensive, several major oil companies want to cut deals with Libya to get to it's oil reserves. But a federal law passed to punish countries like Libya that sponsored terrorism are holding things up.

This law makes any company that does business with a country that sponsors terrorism liable for any legal judgments against that country. So since several families have outstanding money owed them from the Pan Am 103 bombing (sponsored by Libya), any company that does business with them can have their money/assets taken for payment.

From the article:

The law allows victims of state-sponsored terrorism to collect court judgments by seizing foreign assets in the United States or money from those governments held by American companies doing business with them. If Libya loses a half-dozen court cases still pending, $3 billion to $6 billion could be at stake, according to lawyers' estimates.

So what does this have to do with Bush? Well, his admin wanted this law in the first place, but now that the Big Oil companies see lots of $$ in Libya, things have changed. Now Bush and his admin are lobbying to give Libya a waiver to get them off the hook, so the oil companies can go in without worrying about their profits.

Another quote:

The lobbying effort has already produced one important result: four Bush administration cabinet members wrote Congress last month urging lawmakers to agree to the waiver. Likening the asset-seizure provision to "a new form of economic sanctions," the letter said it would have "a chilling effect on potentially billions of dollars in investments by U.S. companies in Libya's oil sector."

The law also puts the American oil companies at a disadvantage in competing for access to Libya's 40 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, said the letter, which was signed by Robert M. Gates, the defense secretary; Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state; Samuel Bodman, the energy secretary; and Carlos Gutierrez, the commerce secretary.

So, I guess this is all about the Oil again. After all wasn't Iraq about the Oil as well?


http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/Pub...C.jsp?id=1208169994101

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/04/libya.oil/

http://www.iht.com/articles/20.../22/africa/22libya.php

 

[Nebor]

Oh F that. Libya is\was a state sponsor of terrorism, the Iran of their day. We're already in bed with the Saudi's (likely the world's largest state-sponsor of anti-American terrorism,) are we just completing the set of evil trading partners at this point?

 

[GTKeeper]

Yes you are right.

Pretty much everyone knows we went into Iraq for oil, even McCain admitted it recently. So I don't know what the holdup is in regards to Libya.

 

[Sinsear]

Libya gave up their pursuit of nuclear weapons, something the Iranians have refused to do. Hence, western investment for Libya, and hopefully cruise missiles exploding in Iran.

 

[Aimster]

We are not the only nation that can pump out oil from the ground....

either U.S firms do it or another firm will do it

 

[beyoku]

Libya are the goods guys now.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: beyoku
Libya are the goods guys now.

They agreed to play nice in the world community after they saw what happened in Iraq.

They got slapped once, they did not want a second time.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Nebor
Oh F that. Libya is\was a state sponsor of terrorism, the Iran of their day. We're already in bed with the Saudi's (likely the world's largest state-sponsor of anti-American terrorism,) are we just completing the set of evil trading partners at this point?

Nope, Libya came to the *Good Side*. They should be rewarded for that.

Fern

 

[Aimster]

Didn't Libya pay a huge sum of money to the families of the victims of that bombing of that airline?

Money they don't really have.

 

[Thump553]

An oversimplistic analysis. Yes, Libya was a very bad player, and yes it still has the same government. But there is very substantial evidence that they have changed their tune, including (the lst I knew) either paying the judgments referred to, or making suitable arrangements on them. (Remember too that these are mostly default judgments, and thus likely to be highly inflated).

Libya is a rare (perhaps the sole) instance of this Bush administration using diplomacy instead of bluster and/or military intervention against a hostile power. This is an effort that began back in the Reagan days (when we did militarily retaliate against Libya) and continued by every president since then. Perhaps the recent success is just a matter of this Bush cashing in on twenty years of diplomacy, but I'm all for giving this Bush an atta boy on Libya. After all, he needs alll the encouragement he can get to act as a responsible adult as President and not as a reckless cowboy.

 

[CanOWorms]

You are only looking at this issue at a juvenile level.

The Europeans are courting Libya for their energy security in competition with the Russians. There is also a big desire in European political circles to implement an illegal and barbaric concentration camp for refugees in the Libyan desert. US dealings with Libya would avert another potential European-organized genocide in Africa.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
You are only looking at this issue at a juvenile level.

The Europeans are courting Libya for their energy security in competition with the Russians. There is also a big desire in European political circles to implement an illegal and barbaric concentration camp for refugees in the Libyan desert. US dealings with Libya would avert another potential European-organized genocide in Africa.

Evidence of the bolded statement?

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: Common Courtesy

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
You are only looking at this issue at a juvenile level.

The Europeans are courting Libya for their energy security in competition with the Russians. There is also a big desire in European political circles to implement an illegal and barbaric concentration camp for refugees in the Libyan desert. US dealings with Libya would avert another potential European-organized genocide in Africa.

Evidence of the bolded statement?

Just do a Google search. There's a lot of info about it.

The desert front - EU refugee camps in North Africa?

 

[Drift3r]

Muammar el-Qaddafi is not a nice guy. Sorry folks but he only flipped because the pro-Democracy rebel groups in Libya and Al Qeada both wanted him dead. He actually had several assassination attempts against his life and some came close to being successful.

His nation's oil was his bargaining chip which allowed him to fall back into the graces of Washington D.C. We could of dealt with Saddam in the same fashion but I guess no one messes with Bush's daddy and gets away with it. Muammar had more American blood on his hand then Saddam ever had and was only bested by Bin Laden.

 

[Thump553]

Originally posted by: Drift3r
Muammar el-Qaddafi is not a nice guy. Sorry folks but he only flipped because the pro-Democracy rebel groups in Libya and Al Qeada both wanted him dead. He actually had several assassination attempts against his life and some came close to being successful.

His nation's oil was his bargaining chip which allowed him to fall back into the graces of Washington D.C. We could of dealt with Saddam in the same fashion but I guess no one messes with Bush's daddy and gets away with it. Muammar had more American blood on his hand then Saddam ever had and was only bested by Bin Laden.

From what I've read absolutely no evidence to support the widespread belief that Saddam plotted to murder the senior Bush has been found in the reams and reams of captured Iranian records. While widely assumed to be true, I'm wondering if this belief should be reclassified as an urban myth.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: Common Courtesy

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
You are only looking at this issue at a juvenile level.

The Europeans are courting Libya for their energy security in competition with the Russians. There is also a big desire in European political circles to implement an illegal and barbaric concentration camp for refugees in the Libyan desert. US dealings with Libya would avert another potential European-organized genocide in Africa.

Evidence of the bolded statement?

Just do a Google search. There's a lot of info about it.

The desert front - EU refugee camps in North Africa?

Locations for illegal immigrants until they are processed back to their home countries.

 

[blackangst1]

Wow. Bush is the first president to make deals with a "terrorist country who is our ally today"!!! Fucker! He's really over the edge on this one!

 

[EagleKeeper]

Russia supported terror and previous Democratic presidents became friend with them.
We know Saudi supports terror, yet both sides of the fence have kissed up to them.

When one trys to frame a problem due to political posturing, many other examples can be found to weaken the arguement.

 

[ProfJohn]

Originally posted by: Common Courtesy

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: Common Courtesy

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
You are only looking at this issue at a juvenile level.

The Europeans are courting Libya for their energy security in competition with the Russians. There is also a big desire in European political circles to implement an illegal and barbaric concentration camp for refugees in the Libyan desert. US dealings with Libya would avert another potential European-organized genocide in Africa.

Evidence of the bolded statement?

Just do a Google search. There's a lot of info about it.

The desert front - EU refugee camps in North Africa?

Locations for illegal immigrants until they are processed back to their home countries.

Why are you even bothering to respond to him when he posts some off the wall website as 'proof.'