War Could Unshackle Oil in Iraq

[10Bears]

Yeah Kieran and Toad... Ole 10Bears is right sometimes

A U.S.-led ouster of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein could open a bonanza for American oil companies long banished from Iraq, scuttling oil deals between Baghdad and Russia, France and other countries, and reshuffling world petroleum markets, according to industry officials and leaders of the Iraqi opposition.

Although senior Bush administration officials say they have not begun to focus on the issues involving oil and Iraq, American and foreign oil companies have already begun maneuvering for a stake in the country's huge proven reserves of 112 billion barrels of crude oil, the largest in the world outside Saudi Arabia.

snip

WashingtonPost

What was that you were sayin' bout me going on about it's all about the oil?... heh

[Kieran]

I see. The Washington Post prints an article, and that verifies your claims...

...or not?

I could as easily argue the Bush administration is garnering support for the removal of SH by any means possible- meaning, hitting everyone in the pocket book. Yes, it could be a lucrative market, but not only for the U.S.

[Kieran]

Oh BTW, if you care to relate the rest of that news, many UN countries are vying for that oil. It is one of the cards the U.S. is playing to get the support it needs. Of course you did go to all the trouble of making it sound like the U.S. alone is looking at that market...

[GRUNHERZ]

Hopefully after this Iraq business is over we can have another go at Hugo Chavez....

[Innominate]

One word.
Duh.

The middle east would be irrelavent if not for the oil.  Any US created democracy would naturally be more friendly to us than the current regimes.

Some people will say that an attack on iraq has nothing to do with oil.

Others will say that the only reason we're considering it is the oil, and therefore we shouldn't.

The reality is, oil is good reason in and of itself.  Most western countries are driven by oil, without it we would collapse.  This is why OPEC and the oil conglomerates can screw the world so badly and get away with it.

[10Bears]

Men of Honor was just on HBO... Good movie. The whole premise was about Honor. I’m still teared up about it.

Kieran if you don’t accept articles from the Wash post or NY Times who do you accept articles from the Wash Times? The post is pretty mainstream it’s not a fringe paper at all so what’s your argument?.. That other European countries are also vying for that loot? The card the U.S. is playing is blackmail. If you don’t support us the price of oil for you will skyrocket. Man it’s like we have a government run by a bunch of gangsters it really is.

I wish they didn’t have to lie to us saying Saddam is this or that or is developing WMD lying to Congress lying to the U.N. about the evidence. The real agenda is quite clear. Here we are a few weeks away from murdering tens of thousands of people --- for what.. for control of Iraq’s oil fields that’s what. That is so dishonorable that goes against everything we were taught to believe as Americans.

The reality is, oil is good reason in and of itself. Most western countries are driven by oil, without it we would collapse. This is why OPEC and the oil conglomerates can screw the world so badly and get away with it.
[/b]

That’s roadkill Innominate good reason in and of itself indeed. To kill.. no murder thousands of people and possibility American soldiers over a business deal? Western countries wouldn’t collapse there’s plenty of other places to acquire oil. There’s lots of other alternatives besides oil for energy sources they haven't even looked at. They would if our government wasn’t being run by BIG OIL. Don’t be ridiculous.

[Innominate]

Originally posted by 10Bears

That’s roadkill Innominate good reason in and of itself indeed. To kill.. no murder thousands of people and possibility American soldiers over a business deal? Western countries wouldn’t collapse there’s plenty of other places to acquire oil. There’s lots of other alternatives besides oil for energy sources they haven't even looked at. They would if our government wasn’t being run by BIG OIL. Don’t be ridiculous.

What's new about this?
You don't really think we send troops around the world to save innocent lives do you?  It's all about protecting american interests, not innocents.  If it happens to save innocent lives, great, but thats not what it's about.

What alternatives to oil are there?

Wind and solar are too inefficient, and expensive to produce significant power.  Hydroelectric is only available where the water supplies allow.  Nuclear opens up a whole new can of worms, and is probably the only thing that will get an environmentalist more irate than anything petroleum based.  Coal is a start, but still has many problems.  There are various grain-based fuels, all of which are extremely expensive, more so than oil would likely get even in the worst crisis.

Seeing as I'm sure I missed a few, please add on promising oil replacements.

Note:  Fuel cells are NOT an alternative to oil, they are an alternative to gasoline.  The electricity to create the hydrogen still has to be produced somehow.


There is no cheap or easy solution to eliminating our dependance on oil.  The oil companies would have little reason to stick to an outdated resource such as petroleum, if there was a clean, cheap alternative which they could monpolize.  When we run out of oil, they're going to feel it more than you or me, it's in thier best interests to move on.  The problem is, it's not easy to do.

[Kieran]

No, 10bears, you don't get it (again).

One article doesn't prove you right on anything, especially when you only present the part that makes your argument sound right. This story is all over the news agencies- except, when THEY tell it, they talk about ALL the countries that are using the oil as bargaining chips for their support of the U.S. initiative. The way you paint it, the U.S. and the U.S. alone is out to get that oil.

The proper perspective is that the U.S. government is out to get SH by any means possible. Many countries are leveraging for oil rights. U.S. corporations are vying for their share.

Once again you seem to leave out critical parts of dialogue, so yeah, I am suspicious of ANYTHING you post- even from the Washington Post.

[Morgoth]

I'm suspicious of ANYTHING the Washington Post prints.

[Udie]

Oil is the part spoils of war we get when we liberate a country from a sadistical madman.   It is not the reason we will go to war with Saddam again.   Weapons of mass murder and destruction and 16 violated UN resolutions are the reasons we need to remove him.  Had the UN and the Clinton administration done their DUTY in the 90's this problem, and likely the war on terror, would not be here on our shoulders now.   How likely is it that Saddam will let the inspectors back in with 100% access to anything they need/want to look at?  They never even got to do that the first time.

 AND

 Oil is the worlds fuel.  It's what makes most stuff go, period.  Not just cars and trucks and planes and ships.  But virtually everything else you use in day to day life got it's start as crude oil.  You got a replacement for it?  You ready to go back to living life like it was in the mid 1800's?  Ready for us to start drilling all over Texas and Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico to get more of our own?  Ready to go to 100% nuclear power? Though even w/ nuklear we'd still need oil for all our other stuff.  Why else would we want/need to be there?  This time we're there to save US.   Just a side bonus that we get to liberate a country and free up a large percentage of the worlds oil all in one stroke.

 In other words using oil is an invalid tactic

[Toad]

10 Bears, it's pretty obvious that you don't understand my position on a possible war against Iraq at all.

10Bears:

What was that you were sayin' bout me going on about it's all about the oil?

[/b]

Yes indeed! What did I say?

Please snip and post  what you think I said. Then please give me a synopsis of what you think my position is on war against Iraq.

I'll be happy to clear up any misconceptions and I think there must be several.

[Thrawn]

Originally posted by Udie
Oil is the part spoils of war we get when we liberate a country from a sadistical madman

Do the people of Iraq want to be "liberated".

Why would the oil default to the US.  Shouldn't it go to the people of Iraq?

[Sandman]

Well... if the U.S. really wanted the oil, we could buy it... simply lift the sanctions.

Iraq needs to sell it just as much as the west needs to buy it.

[Swager]

I wonder, if Bush and all his oil buddies were the owners and mass builders of non fossil fuel products instead, if he would be so determined to extract SH?

Cant blame Clinton there Udie, if George Sr. would of finished the job he started in 1990 things would be different.  Many knew SH would be a PITA to everyone later on down the line.  Im not a Clinton follower, in fact, the guy's an idiot.  

Just remember hind sight is 20/20

[john9001]

if we buy the oil from saddam he will build more palaces and buy more weapons to terriorize his people and other countries...

if we remove saddam and buy oil from the iraq people, they will build schools, hospitals, provide clean water and food for the iraq people.

do the iraq people want freedom from saddam? ask the kurds in the north, ask the shiite moslems in the south of iraq.

"""murdering tens of thousands of people """"
who said we will "murder" tens of thousands????

44MAG
barbarian knight