Once again, this time in Iraq, we see the natural resource wealth of an entire nation enriching none but a criminal class and megacorporations. I will assume a distinction. Once again this is only able to take place as a result of the planned aggression and full cooperation of a government & military that acts as if it is a wholly owned subsidiary of a monied elite. Much the same thing is being done here in Canada but "thanks" to the connivance of significant elements of our corporate and government elite it is being achieved without the need for military force. It should be noted however that to some in the corporate class the missing military element is a major mistake even in Canada as it seriously erodes the huge profit margins possible in war zones and markedly reduces the amount of money that can be transferred from citizens to shareholders in times of military conflict. (The quintessential double dip) Admittedly this is a minority opinion but as Iraq will not be the last to prove not an uninfluential one. Evidence of this influence here in Canada can be seen by the massive increase in expenditures for our military and security industrial complexes over the last few years. NB. Before the Harper government's commitment to a $13 billion increase in military spending Canada’s military spending was the 7th highest in absolute terms in the OECD and 12th overall in the world. If you are skeptical of the claim that Canadians are being all but completely shut out of the benefits of their resource wealth go to the Parkland Institute site and discover for yourself the pitiful fraction the Albertan people receive of their resource wealth compared to the people of Norway. http://www.ualberta.ca/PARKLAND/ For we the Canadian people the situation is an even crueler joke as we receive even less benefit while at the same time bearing more of the brunt of the economic problems associated with being a resource dollar. Aka. Dutch Disease http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dutchdisease.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_disease And it is all Canadians and especially Albertans and even the rest of the world that are at the same time forced to pick up the massive environmental tab even as the profits flee the province and the country.