Michael A. Fletcher – Iraq Oil Deal Gets Everybody’s Attention – washingtonpost.com
By Michael A. Fletcher
Monday, September 24, 2007; Page A17The oil deal signed between Hunt Oil and the government in Iraq’s Kurdish region earlier this month has raised eyebrows, in no small part because it appears to undercut President Bush’s hope that Iraq could draft national legislation to share revenue from the country’s vast oil reserves. Making the deal more curious is that it was crafted by one of the administration’s staunchest supporters, Ray Hunt.
Hunt, chief executive of the Dallas-based company, has been a major fundraiser and contributor to Bush’s presidential campaigns. He also serves on the president’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, putting him close to the latest information developed by the nation’s intelligence agencies. [mjh: Why the hell is an oil man and Bush buddy on the FIAB, except for his own profit?]
If Hunt is signing regional oil deals in Iraq, critics ask, what does
he know about the prospects for a long-stalled national oil law that
others don’t?