The Petroleum War and the Iraqi Citizen Petroleum Ownership Plan

By Brian Costin

"Who gets the oil?" This question is perhaps the most delicate issue facing the international debate about fate of Iraq. How the United States government handles its foreign policy in relation to oil is a mounting concern to find peace with the Middle East and winning the global war on terrorism. Much of the Muslim world is focusing on the issue of oil and is very alarmed on how the U.S. is handling the oil situation. The belief of many is that the U.S. and its allies are in the Middle East in order to control the flow of oil from that country. Recently, the world’s most infamous terrorist urged his followers to take jihad to stop the Americans from getting hold of the oil in Iraq and around the world. The Institute for the Analysis of Global Security and its “Iraq Pipeline Watch” has documented no fewer than 224 attacks on vital petroleum infrastructure and personnel since June 12, 2003. Osama bin Laden continues to state that U.S. foreign intervention in Middle East was the cause of 9/11 and, as long as the U.S. continues to meddle in the Middle East, that they are at risk for further attacks. In a statement released December 16, 2004 Osama bin Laden instructed his followers, “"Take jihad (holy war) to stop (the Americans) getting hold of (the oil). Concentrate your operations on the oil, in particular in Iraq and the Gulf." The unrelenting oil infrastructure attacks show no sign of slowing down and are creating serious problems for the U.S. coalition forces and the new Iraqi government. The Iraqi Citizen Petroleum Ownership Plan (ICPOP) is a way to strike at the root causes of the oil infrastructure attacks and other forms of terrorism directed towards the U.S. government.

By establishing firm citizen property rights in Iraq to the oil and by eliminating criticism of U.S. foreign policy, peace can be achieved in the Middle East. Also much of the motivation fueling worldwide terrorism against the U.S. government and its citizens can be eliminated. By establishing firm property rights in the hands of all Iraqi’s now, it will deter government corruption that previously led to great wealth and power in the hands of an oppressive dictator that was caused by the government monopoly on oil resources. The ICPOP program can dramatically change the power structure in Iraq and increase the chances for peace and prosperity in a successful Middle Eastern democracy. Also, the ICPOP program will secure market incentives for investing in exploration of unidentified energy resources and improve not only the economy of a devastated Iraq but the economy of the entire globe.

Under the ICPOP, each citizen would be granted a marketable title to an equal value of known oil reserves. It would be possible for each individual to receive oil property rights of 1,000 to upwards of more than 4,000 barrels of oil reserves at specific oil sites. The program will try to distribute oil titles regionally to provide incentive local infrastructure security, but making sure each citizen receives an equal value of oil titles will be given preferences, but Families would be able to hold, sell or trade their oil titles. Oil companies must legally accumulate oil titles before drilling by purchasing or trading for titles on the open market.

The ICPOP also provides a framework for a greatly improved property rights system for Iraq. The plan institutes full property rights for underground oil and gas deposits, and repeals all government ownership and controls over output of the petroleum industry. The ICPOP plan recognizes the particular property rights for those who find previously undiscovered oil and gas deposits and for those who may already own the land over such deposits.

Oil Infrastructure Strategy Failure

Since the U.S. led invasion of Iraq in March of 2003 oil infrastructure attacks have been an almost daily occurrence. The inability of the Coalition to successfully prevent attacks and restart a normal flow of oil from Iraq poses catastrophic concerns for the viability of any Iraqi government and harms the prospects for a peaceful and prosperous Iraqi future. Oil is a global flashpoint issue and infrastructure terrorism is spreading beyond Iraq with attacks in Saudi Arabia, Columbia, Venezuela, and Yemen.

Securing the pipelines in Iraq would expose security forces and American soldiers to deadly attacks. Iraq’s total pipeline is 4,000 miles, equivalent of a distance from Juneau, Alaska to New York City, New York. To protect the pipeline security forces would be stretched far and thin. Spreading out troop deployment is the most dangerous form of troop deployment, especially when troops are located at readily identified targets. In the early stages of the war, the convoy of supplies that stretched from Kuwait to Baghdad exposed many U.S. soldiers to unpredictable and deadly attacks.  However, even the convoys have a tactical advantage over protecting vast oil fields and thousands of miles of pipeline.  The ability to move quickly allowed the U.S. led coalition to minimize casualties. However, it is more dangerous to protect a target that is stationary. If the U.S. and coalition forces chose to defend the pipeline more stringently, it would expose soldiers to random gorilla attacks and result in more casualties for those defending the oil infrastructure. If the U.S. and new Iraqi government choose only to combat oil infrastructure by securing the pipeline, they will suffer economic casualties and human loss.

The Root of the Problem

In Iraq, oil is synonymous with power; if you control the oil you control the country.  Iraq nationalized the oil reserves in 1972 in an effort led by Saddam’s revolutionary regime. Since then, with the profits from oil riches, Saddam has had a vice grip on the power structure of the country. It is widespread public belief that U.S. troops are in Iraq because the U.S. wants to control the flow of oil from the nation and possibly the whole region. As a result, the oil infrastructure of Iraq becomes a target not only for its physical vulnerabilities but its psychological importance as well.

In seven out of nine countries a majority of citizens surveyed, by the Pew Research Center in Washington D.C., believes that the U.S. is not genuine in its war against terror. Citizens in the countries of Russia, France, Germany, Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, and Pakistan believe that the war is not genuine. The strength of the convictions is solidified in the four Middle Eastern countries compared to Russia, France, and Germany. All four Middle Eastern countries citizens exceed a 3:1 ratio in believing that U.S. war against terror is not genuine to those who believe it is. In Pakistan there is nearly a 10:1 ratio who believes that the U.S. is not genuine. 71% of citizens in Jordan, 64% in Turkey, 63% in Morocco, and 54% in Pakistan believe that controlling the oil in the Middle East is a major reason behind the war on terror and the war in Iraq. Surprisingly, more than 50% of the citizens in Russia, Germany, and France also believe that controlling the oil is a significant reason for U.S. involvement in Iraq.

With the strong international and stronger regional perception that the U.S. is in Iraq and the Middle East to control the flow of oil, and that perception is probably stronger in Iraq.  Other than the troops and buildings of the U.S. and the Iraqi interim government, there is no other target that is more symbolically significant than the petroleum infrastructure and the people who operate it. Opposition groups are finding pipelines a very easy target as evidenced by over 200 documented attacks since the beginning of the war. It is nearly impossible to prevent attacks tactically on over 4,000 miles of pipeline without placing soldiers in grave danger.

By completely removing the suggestion that the U.S. is in Iraq to control the flow of oil the U.S. not only reaps image benefits in the Iraq struggle, but it would improve the image of the U.S. government globally.  When the U.S. was attacked on September 11 the terrorists were not ambiguous about why they attacked. Osama bin Laden and his followers explicitly told the world the reasons why they attacked the U.S. There were three major reasons why they attacked the U.S.: U.S. unwavering support of the Israeli government, the support of the Saudi government, and the humanitarian crisis cause by economic sanctions on the people of Iraq. Two of the three causes were directly tied to oil and the belief that the U.S. wanted to control the oil trade in Iraq by its continued bombing and sanctions on Iraq, and its support of the oil rich regime in Saudi Arabia.  With symbolic attacks against Iraqi oil infrastructure, increased chatter on possible U.S. infrastructure attacks. Oil has become the flashpoint target for various groups who are opposed to U.S. interventionism around the world.

Finding a Solution

Strategically, there are two ways to prevent infrastructure attacks against oil supplies: increased physical infrastructure security or eliminating the fundamental reasons why insurgents attack the oil infrastructure. A major rallying point for insurgents in Iraq, is that there is a foreign power on their soil. Many see that foreign power as trying to control their nation’s economic lifeblood (oil) and national sovereignty. Terrorist organizations have made this point as well and want to stop the U.S. from controlling the Islamic nations. So far the U.S. government has concentrated the majority of its efforts in the Iraqi War and War on Terrorism on how to defeat an opponent militarily, but have done little to examine why the U.S. has so many enemies.

A interventionist foreign policy leaves the U.S. is vulnerable to those who argue that the U.S. is in the Middle East to control the flow of oil. How the oil situation is handled in Iraq is crucial in determining the success of the War in Iraq and the War on Terrorism. The Iraqi Citizen Petroleum Ownership Plan (ICPOP) is a solution that alleviates many of the problems cause by an interventionist foreign policy. The ICPOP program can greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the belief that the U.S. is Iraq to control the flow of oil.

U.S. House Representative Ron Paul a Republican from Texas stated, “Because of the war (in Iraq), our alliances with the Europeans are weaker than ever. The anti-American hatred among a growing number of Muslims around the world is greater than ever. This makes terrorist attacks more likely than they were before the invasion. Al Qaeda recruiting has accelerated. Iraq is being used as a training ground for al Qaeda terrorists, which it never was under Hussein’s rule. So as our military recruitment efforts suffer, Osama bin Laden benefits by attracting more terrorist volunteers.”

 Nations cannot achieve a lasting peace by waging a one-front mechanical war; it must address the root causes of human conflict. In of the war on terrorism, where the opponents are not fighting for a specific government organization, but rather the idea the Muslim people being free of foreign intervention., the U.S. and the new Iraqi government need to examine the philosophical causes of the insurgency and address its legitimate concerns. While increasing security may help improve the flow of the oil temporarily it only hacks away at the symptoms of the problem. The ICPOP strikes at the root of the crisis.

Under the ICPOP program the coalition led government does not own the oil infrastructure and profits, nor will any future government. Each citizen of Iraq will have property rights to an equal value of the known oil reserves. With private citizen ownership an attack on the oil pipelines and other infrastructure would not be an attack on a foreign invader it would be an attack on the people of Iraq. By tackling the root causes for insurrection, the insurgency will be weakened.

By removing government control and providing Iraqi citizen rights to the oil, it eradicates any suggestion that the U.S. coalition is in Iraq to control the flow of oil from that country. From this the U.S. not only reaps foreign relation benefits in Iraq but it would greatly improve the image of the U.S. government globally.  ICPOP is a solution that can strike at the support and will of terrorist and insurgent organizations in Iraq and around the world. By eradicating one of the main causes for insurrection, the insurgency will be weakened, and the civil and economic rights guaranteed under democracy will have an opportunity to gain a foothold. Once enacted ICPOP would convey a very powerful message and improve U.S. global relations, and greatly reduce the incentive for petroleum infrastructure attacks in Iraq and around the world.