Sometimes Understanding Government can be downright negative when it comes to assessing the federal government’s role in Iraq during the Bush administration. But those days may be over thanks to the New York Times’ Andrew E. Kramer’s uplifting report about the State Dept. lending a helping hand to the Iraqi oil ministry.

State Dept. officials anonymously told the Times that they did, indeed, advise the oil ministry in their allocation of no-bid contracts to a coterie of U.S. and Western European oil giants. But, hey, they were "only helping an understaffed Iraqi ministry with technical and legal details of the contracts."

It’s easy to blast the Bush administration’s efforts to help rebuild Iraqi government and civil society. But this is one heartwarming tale of altruistic assistance that even the most jaded Bush administration would have trouble faulting. It’s also nice to see Exxon Mobile getting something out of the bargain.-MB

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