Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
George W. Bush lifted an executive order banning oil exploration in US waters on Monday, ratcheting up pressure on Congress to give its consent to ending the 28-year moratorium on offshore drilling.
The Republican party has made the push to expand domestic oil production a flagship policy ahead of November’s election, amid mounting public concern at soaring energy prices.
The Democrats have resisted calls to open US waters to drilling, exposing them to Republican attacks for allegedly standing in the way of efforts to reduce dependence on foreign oil.
The president first called for the moratorium to be lifted last month but Monday’s action marked the first concrete step towards ending the ban.
Congress has a separate legislative ban that would have to be scrapped before drilling could start.
“The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the US Congress,” said Mr Bush. “Now the ball is squarely in Congress’s court.”
The White House estimates that about 18bn barrels of oil exist in the 80 per cent of US coastal waters that are off-limits to drilling – enough to match current US production for 10 years.
Opponents say lifting the ban would threaten thousands of miles of coastline with oil spills and ugly infrastructure.
But Mr Bush argues that modern technology would allow drilling to take place without inflicting damage on the environment.
Opinion polls show that most voters have greater trust in the Democrats to tackle the energy crisis, but two-thirds support an expansion in offshore oil production. That provides an opening for the Republicans to gain ground on the issue.
John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, recently reversed his long-standing support for the ban, bringing him into line with most of his party and drawing a contrast with Barack Obama, his Democratic rival, who remains committed to the moratorium.
The Obama campaign said that lifting the ban would have little impact because it would take years for new offshore production to come online and the volumes involved were insufficient to make the US energy independent. “It would merely prolong the failed energy policies we have seen from Washington for 30 years,” said an Obama spokesman.
The White House argues that lifting the ban would help ease oil prices by sending a signal to the market about the prospects of increased US supplies.
Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill have so far resisted pressure for a vote on the drilling issue, because of signs that a significant number of the party’s legislators would side with the Republicans.
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Friday, June 13th, 2008
The White House on Sunday said it remained hopeful of striking a deal with the Iraqi government over the future status of US forces in the country but failed to deny reports it had abandoned efforts to negotiate a long-term agreement.
The Bush administration had been aiming to complete a formal status-of-forces agreement with Baghdad by the end of this month, securing Iraqi consent for a long-term US military presence. But the two sides have struggled to agree terms and recently scaled down their ambitions to a more limited short-term deal, according to the Washington Post.
President George W. Bush wanted to strike a long-term pact to cement US ties with Iraq after he left office in January but it appears increasingly likely that the issue will be left unresolved for the next administration.
US operations in Iraq are currently authorised by a United Nations mandate that expires at the end of this year. The Bush administration hoped to replace it with a bilateral agreement similar to those governing the decades-long US military presence in countries such as Japan and South Korea. But the Washington Post said the two sides had shifted focus to a “bridging agreement” that was likely to cover only 2009.
Negotiations for a longer- term deal have run into difficulty in part because Iraqi demands for a timetable for US withdrawal from the country – a proposal Mr Bush has long opposed.
The White House insisted the administration was pleased with progress to-wards an agreement but declined to comment on its likely timescale. “We continue to work with the Iraqis on establishing an agreement that strengthens our bilateral relations and provides authorities for our troops to operate in Iraq after the UN mandate expires,” it said.
Negotiations have been complicated by the contrasting positions of the main US presidential candidates, with John McCain, the Republican, committed to a long-term presence, while Barack Obama, the Democrat, wants to withdraw all combat troops within 16 months of taking office.
The Washington Post said the scaled-down agreement was likely to include “time horizons” for US troops to leave Baghdad and other Iraqi cities and palaces.
A report in the New York Times yesterday claimed the Bush administration was considering accelerating the drawdown of US forces in Iraq, reflecting the improving security situation and the need for more troops in Afghanistan, where violence is worsening. The White House said it would continue to evaluate conditions in Iraq before deciding whether to make further reductions beyond the 30,000 withdrawn since troop numbers peaked at 170,000 last year.
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