For Immediate Release
Contact: Christopher Doran

April 1, 2004-In "Blood For Oil: How Oil And Corporate Profits Drove The U.S. Invasion Of Iraq," California non-profit PressurePoint reveals conclusive evidence that oil was at the heart of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.  Unfortunately, this is not an April Fool's joke.  The report provides a comprehensive overview of how oil played the lead role in Bush's desire for regime change, including recent revelations that the Administration intended to invade Iraq and seize its oil from the very first days of taking office.

"Most Americans understandably do not want to believe that their government would deliberately mislead them and sacrifice American lives for the sake of oil and to benefit huge corporations with close ties to the Bush Administration.  But the evidence indicates otherwise," said report author and PressurePoint Campaigns Coordinator Chris Doran.

Oil and Corporate Profits Drove the Invasion. The Administration's blueprint for meeting future U.S. oil needs (Cheney Report, May 2001) identified Iraq as the only country in the world, apart from Saudi Arabia, that can meet future U.S. oil demand by itself.  In controlling Iraq's oil, the U.S. will also in large part be able to determine global oil prices, and thus be able to ensure that Europe, Russia, Japan, and China-and the rest of the worldwill be dependent on the United States.  Control of Iraq's oil will effectively give the U.S. a stranglehold on the world economy.

Cheney Urged Seizing Iraq's Oil 2 Weeks After Taking Office.  On February 3rd, 2001, Cheney directed the National Security Council to cooperate fully with his high level Energy Task Force as it considered the "review of operational policies towards rogue states," such as Iraq, and "actions regarding the capture of new and existing oil and gas fields."  Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill has confirmed that Bush was intent on invading Iraq from the first days of the Administration.

Iraq's Move From the Dollar to the Euro Was A Direct Threat to U.S.  In 2000, when Iraq switched from selling its oil in dollars to selling it in euros and encouraged the rest of OPEC to do the same, it presented a much greater threat to U.S. hegemony than any weapon of mass destruction.  Converting dollars into euros means oil import dependent countries would pull potentially trillions of dollar reserves out of the U.S. economy.

Cheney is Personally Profiting from the War. Cheney and others close to the Administration stand to reap substantial financial rewards from the invasion and occupation.  Cheney has 433,000 shares in Halliburton, which has racked up huge profits from its controversially awarded Iraq reconstruction contracts.  Many of the key players in the present Administration, most notably Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, have been involved in long term efforts to encourage the U.S. government to access Iraq's oil through any means possiblewhether it be militarily or by working directly with Saddam Hussein at the height of his most notorious human rights abuses.

"Not only did the Bush Administration lie about the need to invade Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction, more importantly it lied about the true underlying motivation-oil," stated Sarah Droyt, PressurePoint National Coordinator.

The report can be viewed, downloaded, and printed at www.pressurepoint.org

PressurePoint is a California-based non-profit dedicated to addressing the abuses of unchecked corporate power and its corrosive influence on the democratic process.