Former U.S. Diplomat To Reap Millions From Iraqi Oil

Peter Galbraith, a former U.S. diplomat who negotiated the Iraqi constitution, stands to make millions of dollars from Iraqi oil fields.

 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Peter Galbraith, a former U.S. diplomat who negotiated the Iraqi constitution, stands to make millions of dollars from Iraqi oil fields.

His stake came as a result those very negotiations along with his ties to a Norwegian oil firm, DNO, according to the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv.

Galbraith’s deal was that he would help the Kurds in Iraq gain control of oil development in their region of Iraq in exchange for payment for negotiating oil contracts between the Kurds and DNO, according to the Times.

Galbraith admitted to the scheme and payment of a five-percent stake in the Tawke oil field by DNO, said the report.

The Times estimated that the stake is work “reportedly $100 million.”

All during the negotiations, Iraqi politicians were not part of the process and Galbraith was advocating for Iraq to be cut into small countries; Krudistan would see its independence, he noted.

Galbraith told the New York Times that he was working as an independent consultant during the constitution negotiations and the oil deal, adding that he left U.S. government work in 2003.

“So, while I may have had interests, I see no conflict,” he said.

Galbraith was the number-two person in the UN’s mission in Afghanistan before getting fired for criticizing the legitimacy of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s re-election.