Oil Execs Celebrate in SF : Mission (nearly) Accomplished

David Reilly of Chevron, Rex Tillerson of Exxon Mobil, John Browne of BP, and even Dick Cheney were some of the oil executives on hand to celebrate "Mission (nearly) Accomplished" with the new oil law set to go before the Iraqi Parliament this month.

According to Antonia Juhasz's article in the New York Times in March, if passed "the new law would go a long way toward helping the oil companies achieve their goal... transforming Iraq's oil industry from a nationalized model closed to American oil companies except for limited ( although highly lucrative) marketing contracts, into a commercial industry, all-but-privatized, that is fully open to all international oil companies".

There were no fancy landings on aircraft carriers or flight suit costumes, rather the main oil executives together with key players from the Cheney/Bush administration walked from Civic Center Bart to the Chevron station at Howard and 9th for a somewhat conservative but festive street corner party. Condoleeza Rice arrived wearing a black velvet jacket, pearls, and high heels and held balloons reading " Iraqi Oil Theft Law" and "Mission Accomplished". Dick Cheney, looking confident wearing his usual Pacino-like snarl, held up a Chevron sign that read, "This war is not about oil". And an attending corporate lackey, apparently from Chevron, carried a big sack of cash and a sign that read, "Give Blood for Oil ".

The gas station attendant at this 9th and Howard stop ( a Soma favorite for SUV-owners, commuters and unsustainable city dwellers alike because it combines a Burger King, a Starbucks, and a car wash) commented from behind his bulletproof glass cage, "I had no idea this was happening today. It's a complete surprise. But I don't think my manager will be happy, it appears to be discouraging many customers from coming in."