(Matthew 7:15-16) Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.

Or, if you prefer a more colloquial expression, if it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it’s probably a duck.

What is the real fruit of the Bush administration? Is it the “War on Terror” that continues to mock the Bill of Rights? Is it the 84,723 – 92,414 civilian deaths in Iraq? Or maybe the 4414 military deaths and 29,000 military wounded? What about the torture scandals that continue to violate everything America used to stand for? No, those are only some of the by-products of the Bush tree, the pollen that gets scattered along the way.

Bush’s real fruit, the purpose behind all that pollen, is finally coming to light. Today’s NY Times tells us that a deal will be announced on June 30th between Iraq and several western oil companies. These are “no-bid” contracts, something unheard of in the oil industry.

This story also tells us that 36 years ago, Exxon/Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — were booted out of Iraq when Saddam Hussein nationalized the industry. But now they’re on their way back.

So let’s look at this chronologically, leaving out all the lies and justifications.

1) American big oil gets tossed out of Iraq by Saddam.

2) Bush invents a reason to invade Iraq and get Saddam killed.

3) American big oil moves back into Iraq.

Who says Bush is incompetent?