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Bush promotes Iraq oil fund
AFP
CAMP DAVID
Petroleumworld.com 06 13 06US President George W. Bush urged Iraq's fledgling government on Monday to use oil revenues to help its beleaguered population and starve the insurgency of support.
"My own view is that the government ought to use the oil as a way to unite the country and ought to think about having, you know, a tangible fund for the people so the people have faith in the central government," he said.
His comments came after the first of two days of high-level talks with top US diplomatic and military aides to map the way forward in Iraq. On Tuesday, he was to speak to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki via videoconference.
Bush said he and senior US officials, meeting at the Camp David retreat three years after Saddam Hussein's ouster, had discussed ways to boost Iraq's oil production.
"There's some unbelievably interesting exploration opportunities and the new government is going to have to figure out how best to lease the people's lands in a fair way," said Bush.
"The oil sector is very much like the rest of the infrastructure of Iraq. Saddam Hussein let it deteriorate. There wasn't much reinvestment, not much modernization," said Bush. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done."
AFP 12 2051 GMT 06 06
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