dropping prices

[ladykaty@mail.utexas.edu]

This is from the NYT online.  
It is obvious that the oil in the region is what is driving Bush and his 
cronies to push for war in Iraq.  Everyone wants control of the oil because it
is the substance that makes the world work.  Many of the folks that funded the
Bush/Cheney campaign are quite interested in the outcome.  Fluctuating prices
right now show how destabilizing the region could impact the world oil supply. 
Going to war in any situation is terrible, but to wage war for profit is sick.

M. Eakin




Oil Prices Tumble as Iraq Bows to Pressure
By Ivar M Simensen in London

Oil prices tumbled in London on Tuesday morning after Iraq said it would allow
unconditional weapon inspections by the United Nations.

In a letter handed to Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, Iraq said that
weapon inspection teams from the UN could return to the country "without
conditions", for the first time since 1998.

The news sent crude prices tumbling, while global stock markets and the dollar
gained sharply an imminent military attack on Iraq appeared to have been averted.
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Brent crude for November delivery fell 87 cents to $27.65 a barrel on London's
International Petroleum Exchange after dropping as much as $1.25 to $27.27 in
early trade.

US remains unconvinced

But the surprise shift in policy from Iraq got a&nbsp;lukewarm reception in the
United States.

US officials on Monday night responded sceptically to the Iraqi offer, insisting
a UN resolution requiring Iraq to disarm was still needed. "This is not a matter
of inspections," the White House said.

"It is about disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the Iraqi
regime's compliance with all other security council resolutions. This is a
tactical step by Iraq in hopes of avoiding strong UN security council action. As
such it is a tactic that will fail. It is time for the security council to act."

Lawrence&nbsp;Eagles of the futures broker GNI said the US in the coming days
would have to convince the UN that security council resolutions were still
needed to ensure that the inspections would be carried out.

"This does not mean that the Iraqi crisis has ended as a factor for the oil
market, and could ultimately have more serious consequences if the US is forced
to take unilateral action," Mr Eagles said in a GNI research note.

"However, it has reduced the immediate threat of a military strike, and for that
reason a fall in the oil price of around $2/barrel would seem reasonable over
the coming sessions."