AN INTELLIGENT LOOK AT THE IRAQ OIL BUSINESS

As the smoke was billowing Tuesday from a fire at a pipeline near Baghdad, oil analysts were focusing on restoring security to ensure a steady growth in Iraq's severely disrupted energy production. The Tuesday fire was the fifth major incident since May.

Sabotage and fires are derailing the flow of Iraqi oil to global energy markets. The attacks on pipelines and power stations are aimed at impoverishing Iraqis and making their lives miserable. Those who do it follow the old Leninist adage, "the worse, the better."

Saddam's loyalists and foreign jihadis who come to Baghdad to fight the infidels believe that by escalating Iraqis' suffering they will drive the Americans out of Iraq and across the ocean.

Lack of security and the rickety infrastructure are among the factors which slow down the process of post-war reconstruction and contribute to Iraqis' misery.