America, Iraq, China. What a Crew.

       If you're one of the folks that considered the Iraqi war to be a necessary evil and a potential for access to a major source of oil for America, I've got some bad news for ya. If you're one of those folks who thought we only went to war in Iraq for it's oil, it doesn't matter any more. If you thought we were saving Iraqi's from a cruel dictator, they don't care. If you're someone who thinks the Iraqis owe us for setting them free, you're gonna be disappointed in the news today. But there is an upside too, of sorts.
       An article in the New York Times this morning tells the real story. U.S. oil giant Exon Mobile is getting beaten out by China's oil companies in Iraq. The reason for this turn of events is because they're willing to pay whatever Iraq wants and under whatever terms Iraq wishes to impose. Western oil companies complain about strict terms and low profit margins, but China doesn't care.
       Why are the Chinese so accommodating while America's and other western companies are such whiners? Western companies have stockholders they need to keep happy with big profits. Chinese companies are owned by the state. All they care about is enough oil for energy to keep its industries and population happy. These Chinese companies don't need to make any profit at all. For China, whatever it takes to make Iraq happy, is okay with them.
       Iraq doesn't feel any responsibility to repay America for causing a war in which hundreds of thousands of its people died and for which instability is a nearly daily occurrence. On the other hand, the financial gains from selling to the Chinese and China's willingness to play by Iraq's rules could go a long way to easing the sectarian strife by keeping more Iraqi citizens employed. Getting a regular paycheck keeps a lot more people happy than a revolution or austerity does. America might want to consider this fact when it comes to austerity.