http://www.nationalreview.com/york/york200512140829.asp

http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/377675.html

And for something really scary, check out this blogger–probably it is the infamous Ward Churchill. http://www.tryworks.blogspot.com

France did not want the US to invade Iraq and get rid of Saddam because he was their ally and fueled the French hope that the “Petrodollar” would die a sudden death once the sanctions were lifted. Back in 2000, Saddam decided to strike back at the US by demanding all “oil for food” sales of Iraqi oil be sold in Euros rather than the dollar. Ten Billion dollars were exchanged into Euros from the escro account of the French BNP Paribas sometime before September 11, 2001. Saddam made off like a bandit after the attack as the dollar fell and the Euro rose. If Opec were to switch the oil currency to the Euro, the US economy could be compared to that of a third world country, practically over night.

Read this essay which makes the case, although with a bias to the left as far as the justification for the war.

Revisited – The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War With Iraq:
A Macroeconomic and Geostrategic Analysis of the Unspoken Truth

SBD

Global News Wire — Europe Intelligence Wire
Copyright 2002 The Times
September 14, 2002

HEADLINE: GADDAFI EXTENDS INFLUENCE WITH OIL DEAL
BYLINE: Daniel McGrory
BODY:
WITH a flick of his pen, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has taken another step to becoming the richest and most powerful
leader in Africa.
The Libyan dictator is reported to have signed a lucrative deal with the Central African Republic giving him the sole right to exploit oil and mineral resources for 99 years. The colonel has been secretly negotiating for months with the republic, which is rich in gold, diamond, oil and uranium.
Revelations of the colonel’s latest monopoly deal came as the Libyan regime renewed its $360 million (Pounds 230 million) contract to supply Zimbabwe with oil in exchange for a massive stake in the nation’s main assets.
Neighbouring governments are perturbed at the colonel’s takeovers, complaining that the continent’s most valuable resources are being bought on the cheap. The West is monitoring the acquisitions closely.
Colonel Gaddafi’s officials in Tripoli say that this is simply his way of supporting his African brothers, using Libya’s oil money to bail them out.Western diplomats believe that it is a blatant attempt to buy votes and influence countries in the proposed African Union. One senior envoy described it as the colonel’s “new colonisation of Africa”.
Gail Wannenburg, of the South Africa Institute for International Affairs, said: “Colonel Gaddafi is buying favours. He wants to dominate the new African Union and during his recent trip across southern Africa he was handing out money left, right and centre.”
The colonel has reportedly taken a stake in Mozambique’s oil infrastructure, made investments in Namibia and Malawi
that have yet to be fully revealed, as well as increasing his stake in Zimbabwe. “He is also reported to be paying off the debts of up to ten countries and will pay their dues to this new union, which he wants based in Tripoli,” Ms Wannenburg said. “There will be economic benefits, but the priority is influence.”
The deal with the war–torn Central African Republic comes a year after Libyan troops crushed an army revolt and is seen as a reward for ensuring that President Patasse stays in power. Libyan units remain to protect the President.
In the capital, Bangui, Andre Nalke Dorogo, the Minister of Mines, said yesterday that the agreement with Libya had
been signed in June. It is a snub to the French interests that have dominated its former colony since independence in 1960.
France withdrew its troops in 1998 after helping to control a series of mutinies.
Mr Dorogo said that the republic would benefit from the taxes paid by the Societe Africaine Libyenne d’Investissement, which was created to oversee exploration of resources. Paul Bellet, the main opposition leader, said he was angry that this deal had not been approved by parliament and it could not stand until it was.

SBD

GADDAFI EXTENDS INFLUENCE WITH OIL DEAL The Times September 14, 2002

Copyright 2002 Financial Times InformationAll rights reservedGlobal News Wire – Europe Intelligence Wire  Copyright 2002 The Times  The TimesSeptember 14, 2002LENGTH: 466 wordsHEADLINE: GADDAFI EXTENDS INFLUENCE WITH OIL DEALBYLINE: Daniel McGrory BODY: WITH a flick of his pen, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has taken another step to becoming the richest and most powerful leader in Africa.The Libyan dictator is reported to have signed a lucrative deal with the Central African Republic giving him the sole right to exploit oil and mineral resources for 99 years. The colonel has been secretly negotiating for months with the republic, which is rich in gold, diamond, oil and uranium. Revelations of the colonel’s latest monopoly deal came as the Libyan regime renewed its $ 360 million (Pounds 230 million) contract to supply Zimbabwe with oil in exchange for a massive stake in the nation’s main assets.Neighbouring governments are perturbed at the colonel’s takeovers, complaining that the continent’s most valuable resources are being bought on the cheap. The West is monitoring the acquisitions closely.Colonel Gaddafi’s officials in Tripoli say that this is simply his way of supporting his African brothers, using Libya’s oil money to bail them out.Western diplomats believe that it is a blatant attempt to buy votes and influence countries in the proposed African Union. One senior envoy described it as the colonel’s "new colonisation of Africa".Gail Wannenburg, of the South Africa Institute for International Affairs, said: "Colonel Gaddafi is buying favours. He wants to dominate the new African Union and during his recent trip across southern Africa he was handing out money left, right and centre."The colonel has reportedly taken a stake in Mozambique’s oil infrastructure, made investments in Namibia and Malawi that have yet to be fully revealed, as well as increasing his stake in Zimbabwe. "He is also reported to be paying off the debts of up to ten countries and will pay their dues to this new union, which he wants based in Tripoli," Ms Wannenburg said. "There will be economic benefits, but the priority is influence."The deal with the war-torn Central African Republic comes a year after Libyan troops crushed an army revolt and is seen as a reward for ensuring that President Patasse stays in power. Libyan units remain to protect the President.In the capital, Bangui, Andre Nalke Dorogo, the Minister of Mines, said yesterday that the agreement with Libya had been signed in June. It is a snub to the French interests that have dominated its former colony since independence in 1960. France withdrew its troops in 1998 after helping to control a series of mutinies.Mr Dorogo said that the republic would benefit from the taxes paid by the Societe Africaine Libyenne d’Investissement, which was created to oversee exploration of resources.Paul Bellet, the main opposition leader, said he was angry that this deal had not been approved by parliament and it could not stand until it was.JOURNAL-CODE: FTMSLOAD-DATE: September 16, 2002

[PDF] Evr409 RA BIA-NIGER 2004-9.qxd
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – View as HTML
Agence d’Agadez. BP 148 – Agadez. Tél. : (227) 44 04 05. Fax : (227) 44 04 80
… Principale source de devises, l’uranium (3200 tonnes produi- …
http://www.belgolaise.com/documents/fr/ actu/rapp_annu/2005/05_rapport_2004_bianiger.pdf

[PDF] Exploitations et état des ressources naturelles au Niger
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – View as HTML
les pays d’Afrique centrale (Cameroun et Gabon surtout) et la Libye, … Arlit,
la ville de l’uranium, située au nord d’Agadez: 16 506 hab. …
http://www.ibimet.cnr.it/Case/document/env_nig.pdf

Link 2

Link 3

edited by AJStrata

So what are you saying? That these nomadic Tuaregs are moving the uranium on their caravan routes through the desert to Libya?

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L07745997.htm

However, I still do not think the French were privately against this war. They stood to gain as much from an invasion as any other nation. They wanted to do business in Iraq and replacing Saddam was the best way to increase that business without having to face obstruction at the UN from the UK/US group.

All the talk after the fact is just to enhance the public message prior to invasion.

MORE OF THE MAXIMUM from Karl Rove behind bars. The latest in The Heretik’s exclusive jail house interview: all about the other Novak. KARL ROVE May god bless or damn reporters like Viveca Novak. A reporter who leaves herself

you think the “re-opening” of the investigation has anything to do with it?

I loved his rebuttal to why the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director for Nonproliferation contacted the USA in the end of November 2002 about them having intelligence showing Iraq had attempted to get uranium from Niger. It was in essence “well, they didn’t know what they were talking about, we didn’t share this info with them”.

So you might ask, who told them that they had intelligence showing this? Did Foreign Affairs just make it up out of nothing? Hardly.

I think it’s time we pushed the CIA to declassify a lot more of that SSCI report to see just how involved the French were in this, and why Chouet is conducting an immense push-back campaign only now.

What story? You know, the old “who told who what about the covert operative that wasn’t covert therefore no law was broken so what in the hell is Fitzgerald still sucking up our tax dollars for in this boondoggle? story.