I learned that Wolfowitz, then Deputy Secretary of Defense, would have gotten his numbers from the expert official designated to measure Iraq’s oil, Guy Caruso. Caruso once ran the CIA’s oil ops; now he’s the head of Bush’s Energy Information Administration. A source close to Caruso (in Saudi intelligence, no less) told me the ex-spook heard Wolfowitz’ testimony and said, “What are they getting this from?”
In 2004, I confronted Caruso in his Department of Energy office in Washington. Nice man. Caruso knows his stuff. And, after an hour of technical jibberish, he told me the info he gave Wolfowitz’ department — and the numbers didn’t add up to anything close to Wolfowitz’ Iraq oil windfall.
I then checked Caruso’s numbers with his own numbers man, another ex-CIA oil expert, Robert Ebel. I asked Ebel about the Wolfowitz claim of an oil gusher in Iraq that would pay for the US Occupation. Ebel wouldn’t answer until after the cameras were off. But I wasn’t asked to keep it off the record.
Ebel told me he had put the real numbers up on a think tank website just before the Humvees rolled into Baghdad. His projections conflicted big time with the fantasy facts to which Wolfowitz testified. Ebel told me that allies of neo-con conman Ahmad Chalabi asked Ebel to remove and bury the realistic numbers. He did.
Did Wolfowitz lie? Ebel smiled, “It was just part of the sales pitch, wasn’t it?”
The sales pitch?? WAR FOR SALE - CHEAP!
Well, you can say that one man’s sales pitch is another man’s perjury. If Wolfowitz had knowingly concealed the Caruso team’s findings while testifying under oath, then The Wolf is guilty of a felony. Moreover, perjury which leads to death is homicide.
But he’s off the hook. I checked the record. Ever since his crony Abrams was charged with perjury, Wolfowitz won’t testify under oath. Nor will any of the Bushies.
Wolfowitz did not raise his hand and swear to “tell the whole truth, so help me, God.” The Wolf’s home free. How the Lord will judge this loophole, I can’t say.
So, no perjury charge for Wolfowitz. Of course there’s another crime. His getting caught icing his cupcake, Ms. Riza, with World Bank funds, forces millions of innocent morning newspaper readers to suffer visions of these two neo-cons naked and nasty. Urgh!
Still, one can’t but help be touched by the romantic side of this story. After all, here were two people of different faiths, sharing their intense love . . . of money, secrets and lies.
Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestseller, [1] ARMED MADHOUSE: From Baghdad to New Orleans — Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild, from which this report is adapted.
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