That April 2001 report, "Strategic Policy Challenges for the 21st Century," was prepared by the James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy and the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations at the request of then-Vice President Dick Cheney.

In retrospect, it appears that the report helped focus administration thinking on why it made geopolitical sense to oust Hussein, whose country sat on the world's second largest oil reserves.

Two years after the Baker report, the United States - along with Great Britain and other allies - invaded Iraq. Now, more than six years after that, the U.S. oil industry finally appears to be in a strong position relative to Iraq's oil riches.