“In January 2006, Iraqi oil exports, the country’s cash lifeline, were down about 20 percent from a year earlier. ..The causes of the drop in oil exports included spotty maintenance at the refineries, poor weather in the south, inadequate storage capacity, attacks by the insurgents and criminal networks within the Iraqi ministries. …There was also corruption. Oil was being stolen. Add to this the targeted insurgent attacks on pipelines and other oil facilities, plus the decrepit condition of the infrastructure with its leaky pipes and broken pumps, and it was a mess.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Bob Woodward, State of Denial, Pages 440-441