In last year’s elections, which saw the Republicans reclaim control of the Senate, it provided $18m. “Those who profit directly from the oil industry, and those in power are the same,” the journalist Daniel Tubb argued. “However, it is important to realise that this is not a recent phenomenon. Oil has played a central role in US foreign policy for the last 50 years. Iraq is just the latest verse in a long American love affair with the black gold.”One thing that everyone seems to agree on is the treasure trove Iraq’s black gold represents.

Iraq has proven oil reserves of 112 billion barrels, making it second only to Saudi Arabia, with perhaps double that in undiscovered reserves. With sanctions in place, the current production is just 2.8 million barrels a day, a capacity it struggles to reach because of deteriorating equipment.At current production levels Iraq has 128 years’ supply of oil. The value of these reserves is vast – perhaps too vast to calculate. Experts say that given sufficient foreign investment, Iraq could be producing six million barrels a day within five years, making it the world’s third-biggest producer behind Russia and Saudi Arabia.

At those levels, production could be worth between $40bn and $80bn each year.Many would argue that is something worth going to war for. In this context, there are a number of countries that have as much to lose as America has to gain. Since the end of the Gulf War companies from more than a dozen nations, including Britain, have had discussions with Iraq about developing fields. Is it a coincidence that the two countries with most to lose from America seizing control of Iraq’s oil are Russia and France – both veto-holding members of the UN Security Council and both opposed to the second resolution tabled by the US and Britain?In 1997, Russia’s Lukoil negotiated a $8.5bn deal to develop the West Qurna oilfield, and in 2001 another Russian company, Slavneft, signed a $42m deal to drill in Tuba. The French TotalFinaElf company has negotiated the rights for the vast Majnoon oilfield near the Iranian border.Russia is concerned about losing out not only on the deals it has with Iraq, but also the effect that an increase in production of Iraqi oil would have on developing drilling sites in cost-intensive Siberia.”It’s pretty straightforward,” the former CIA director James Woolsey said “France and Russia have oil companies and interests in Iraq.