The Raw Story | In secret agreement, Shell nets 25-year monopoly on S. Iraq's gas

"Signed Sept. 22 and obtained by United Press International, the 'Heads of Agreement' document -- basically a legal framework for a contract -- delegates Shell sole access to the reserves for the next 25 years, with an option to extend that term."

This war was supposed to not be about oil. So, where's the open competition to develop Iraq's oil industry? Where's the transparency to develop trust? Where's the democracy?

The business end of a gun and outright fraud are not--and never have been--ways to develop democracy. As We have seen over the past 8 years, it merely serves to destroy it.