Originally posted by Momus--
I'll repeat what I said ealier, if Iraq was a resource-poor rat-hole, you probably wouldn't even be able to find it on a map, not that I think you could anyway.
Now it is entirely your right to fly in the face of reality and in the face of sixty years of your own political history during which time successive US governments have made control of the resources of the persian gulf their number one strategic priority.
It is a fact that US hegemony is based largely on the status of the dollar as the global reserve currency in which oil sales are denominated.
How do you think the US will contain the threat of the Euro as an alternative global reserve currency and at the same time send a message to Opec that it will not tolerate the move to redenominate oil sales in euros and the subsequent undermining of the dollar's reserve status.? By ensuring that Iraqi oil is paid for in dollars and by sending a clear signal to the rest of Opec that military action will be used to maintain US hegemony.
How does the US contain the growing competition of China and in particular counter it's economic exposure due to dependance on China's dollar consumption? By ensuring that it controls the oil upon which China will be increasingly dependant for its economic growth and thus ensuring that China continues hold dollars and not dump them.
Despite your assertions to the contrary, this is not an ideological view of the situation, it is a realpolitik view. There may be other subsidiary motives for the invasion; no doubt the powerful pro-Israel lobby supported it for their own reasons, but the ostensible pretexts for war are just to flimsy on their own. Take oil out of the equation and an invasion would basically make no sense, despite your and other's passionate attachment to defending whichever spurious rationalisations are current.
Of course you ignore the fact that the only reason the US is in Iraq is
1. because Iraq invaded Kuwait
2. Iraq refused to allow inspectors to do their job
Also, you ignore the fact that the US never once has invaded a country for it's resources.
Why don't you give ONE example of the US controling any middle east oil? You should have many examples, as you claim that is the number one US goal for 60 years.
And the "pro Israel" lobby
. It's not a true conspiracy without throwing that one in there!
The first war on Iraq was to make sure that Iraq didn't threaten the world's oil supplies in the middle east. We didn't go there to take any oil. In fact, we did not take any oil or take control of any oil.
Can you give even one example of the US controiling any country's oil supply? Look at all the oil the US is controlling and then get back to me.
Of course, you ignore Iraq's actions completely. No, Iraq did nothing wrong and could no way be even remotely considered the catalyst for what ended up happening to themselves.
I guess you have blinders on and ignore any Iraqi involvement leading up to BOTH gulf wars. Just go ahead and be a simpleton and say it's about the oil, despite one shred of evidence. That's what you simpleton's do best.
