And the Grand Prize of Iraqi Oil Goes To...

...George Bush. Oops. Sorry. Wrong tape. Try this one instead.

"Frank A. Verrastro, director of the energy and national security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he thought the announcement of the Chinese deal would open the door to the announcement of some of the other oil deals that Iraq has been negotiating recently.

The announcement of a Chinese deal first, rather than a deal with a major Western petroleum company like Shell or Chevron, would send a positive signal, Mr. Verrastro said.

“Iraq is going to deal with China, as well as the U.S., as well as the U.K.,” he said. “It shows that Iraq is going to reach beyond a select group of companies.”

Iraq is a sovereign country, folks. Too bad your mindless prater won't be validated.

And while I'm at it, here's a little history of the whole Iraq thing, starting with the Clinton/Gore administration.

h/t commenters at Gateway Pundit.