Panel Questions State Dept. Role in Iraq Oil Deal

NYTimesBush administration officials knew that a Texas oil company with close ties to President Bush was planning to sign an oil deal with the regional Kurdistan government that ran counter to American policy and undercut Iraq’s central government, a Congressional committee has concluded.Keep in mind that stated policy and actual Cheney/Bush policy are rarely, if ever, the same. Say one thing, do the opposite, lie about it, and blame someone else.The company, Hunt Oil of Dallas, signed the deal with Kurdistan’s semiautonomous government last September. Its chief executive, Ray L. Hunt, a close political ally of President Bush, briefed an advisory board to Mr. Bush on his contacts with Kurdish officials before the deal was signed.To which advisory Bush's response, no doubt, was "Where's my check?"In an e-mail message released... [read full story]