Bush is a ____!

[FrankRizzoXD40]

Debunking The War For Oil Theory
by John Hawkins

As I read the latest & greatest piece of diarrhea to be penned by one of the 'war for oil" crowd, I was struck by how shallow and ill-thought out this theory it is.

In fact, when I called it the "war for oil theory" in the title of this editorial, I probably gave the whole idea more credit that it's due. That's because there's really nothing more to the whole "theory" than,

A) The United States uses oil
B) Iraq has a lot of oil
C) Bush & Cheney are former oilmen

We're actually lucky that Cheney never owned a Major League baseball team and that Iraq doesn't have any talented, young players or we'd probably be treated to the "war for baseball" theory by the anti-war left.

But "war for baseball" makes about as much sense as "war for oil" when you think about it. Just ponder the OBVIOUS question that the proponents of the 'war for oil' theory never ask. That question is, "What are we accomplishing with a war for oil that we couldn't achieve more easily via peaceful means?"

-- We can't be going to war to get Saddam to sell us oil because he already does.

-- Do we want him to sell us MORE oil? Well then all we'd have to do is ask. Iraq is desperate to acquire more revenue.

-- Do we want to increase the price of oil to make the oil companies more profitable? Again, that's easy to do. We could simply destroy the Iraqi oil fields in retaliation for their attacks on our planes in the "no fly" zone. That would cause a large temporary spike in the price of oil.

-- Do we want to get more oil on the world market so we can buy cheaper oil? We could easily convince the UN to remove the sanctions and Iraq would quickly double their oil production. They're currently producing way under capacity.

-- Do we want to get the oil field contracts that the French and Russians have? Behind the scenes, Bush could have offered to have the sanctions lifted if Hussein would have torn up the contracts he had with the French and Russians. If we didn't want the sanctions in place they'd be gone and the contracts Saddam made with the French and the Russians? They don't mean anything when you're dealing with a dictator like Hussein -- unless you've got a military capable of enforcing the deal. Also, just as a side note, the war, the occupation, and aid we'll give Iraq will end up costing us much more than those oil fields are worth even if we would have gotten them all (which we won't).

-- Do we want to control the country that has the 2nd largest supply of oil in the world so we'll still have a source of oil after much of the rest of the planet has gone dry? Well, this makes no sense at all in world where relationships between nations change regularly. Think about how our relationships with Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, & Germany have changed just since 9/11. The only way we could insure that we would still have access to Iraq's oil decades from now would be to make them into a US colony with a puppet ruler who actually takes orders from us. Is there anyone out there who actually thinks this is going to happen despite the fact that we're not doing it anywhere else in the world today?

The reason I've had to toss out all these different options in the first place is because there is no consistent, rational theory coming from the 'war for oil' people. They themselves don't even understand what they mean by "war for oil".

If you want to expose how little thought these people have put into this, just use the Socratic Method on them. I'm sure your conversation will sound something like this?

Anti-War Protestor: This is a war for oil! That's what this all about!

You: Why do you say that?

Anti-War Protestor: Because Iraq has oil and we want it! Bush and Cheney, they're oilmen!

You: So how does invading Iraq help us get their oil?

Anti-War Protestor: After we invade, we can just take it!

You: So you're saying we're going to invade Iraq and just take over their oil fields? Then we're never going to pay Iraq for their oil? That doesn't sound very likely?.

Anti-War Protestor: I'm not saying that?we will pay for the oil but?

You: But, we already pay for the oil. How is that different from what we're doing now?

Anti-War Protestor: We'll have all that oil under our control!

You: How will it be under our control?

Anti-War Protestor: Iraq's leader will be a puppet of the United States! They'll have to sell us oil!

You: But they already sell us oil. So why should we?

Anti-War Protestor: He tried to kill Bush's daddy! That's what this really about!

The 'war for oil theory' isn't a serious theory for people who pay attention to foreign policy. It's really nothing more than a bumper sticker slogan that through parrot-like repetition has managed to impress liberal partisans, people who don't like Bush, and those who don't really understand foreign policy.

© Copyright 2001-2006 John Hawkins
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Obviously this is from a biased source, but he presents some very intresting points.

If this war is really all about oil, then we are going about it completely the wrong way.

And I SWEAR TO GOD I've had that conversation at the end of that piece with SEVERAL people over the last few years..... (not in this forum yet, however).

Frank

[Powerman]

Originally Posted by FrankRizzoXD40

The Iraq war was about WMD and deposing a brutal dictator. It has evolved into something far different than that now (different debate). Was part of it about oil? Perhaps. But if that was the main focus, our actions there are proving the opposite. Giving Iraq some long-term stability and preventing oil funds from being channeled to terrorists might be a secondary consideration, but the primary goal is to fix what we have started, kill the enemy and get out.

Frank

Frank, I'm not talking about what ever story was made up to go to Iraq. I'm not talking about the Iraq war. I'm not saying that oil was the sole purpose for going to Iraq.

I am saying that our foriegn policy in the Middle East for the last 50 years has been for the sole reason of oil. Period. There is nothing else in that Muslim sand box that we give a crap about. We don't care about their freedoms, we don't care about their politics, we don't care about their religion. We care about our stable and secure access to easily available oil. Stable and secure being relative. It is much easier to do what we have been doing, than to conquer and control distant lands for it's resources.

And I'm OK with that. I'm OK with being at the top of the food chain and I very much enjoy my standard of living. I know exactly where it came from.

[FrankRizzoXD40]

Originally Posted by Powerman

Frank, I'm not talking about what ever story was made up to go to Iraq. I'm not talking about the Iraq war. I'm not saying that oil was the sole purpose for going to Iraq.

Then why did you respond to a post where I was disagreeing with someone who said that oil IS the major reason we went to Iraq, asking me if I was "serious" and "joking"?

Frank

[Powerman]

Originally Posted by FrankRizzoXD40

Then why did you respond to a post where I was disagreeing with someone who said that oil IS the major reason we went to Iraq, asking me if I was "serious" and "joking"?

Frank

Because you are so entertaining Frank

[FrankRizzoXD40]

Originally Posted by Powerman

Because you are so entertaining Frank

ok......

I'm glad I am providing entertainment!

I will be sure to take your posts less seriously from now on, now that your true intent has been made clear.

Frank

[Deacon51]

Originally Posted by FrankRizzoXD40

Don't let the media and the dems convince you of that.

Frank

10 years of active military, working with Canada, Britain, Australian, German, and Kiwi troops, convinced me of that.

[Powerman]

Originally Posted by robertoj

I don't want our troops to die for oil. Period. No ifs or buts, that should be a no brainier for everybody.

If oil is one of the reasons then, we need to put our house in order and accelerate the development of alternate energy sources and other options need to be put on the table asap specially, in a year that the oil industry has declared record profits and their executives have obscenely rich salaries and perks.

There are no other alternatives at this point. Bio diesel is a complete joke. There is nothing as cheap as oil. We could all be willing to pay double for our mileage, but then what. Oil prices fall for the rest of the world and they produce everything cheaper than us. Our involvement in the M.E. is unpleasant, but so far it has not been our complete financial ruin.

[FrankRizzoXD40]

Originally Posted by Deacon51

10 years of active military, working with Canada, Britain, Australian, German, and Kiwi troops, convinced me of that.

Ok....what exactly did you mean when you said "I know we are the biggest baddest mofo's in the world"?

If you mean that America is bad, then most soldiers and those who have served would disagree with you.

But I may have misinterpreted you.

Frank

[Ishpeck]

A buddy of mine said the coolest thing ever and I felt like it fit in this thread.

I feel like everyone blames Bush, but hes just an image or a symbol.... if your Frosted Flakes get soggy do you blame Tony the Tiger?

[Powerman]

Originally Posted by FrankRizzoXD40

I will be sure to take your posts less seriously from now on, now that your true intent has been made clear.

Frank

I'm just a smart a$$. I mean what I say, but maybe I come off too serious. I certainly don't believe we went to Iraq for oil. I believe Bush did what he thought was best for the security of our Nation at the time. However, you have to agree that oil is the only reason for involvement at all in the M.E. It is that constant meddling and involvement that pisses off all the radicals.

Say if we just let the market dictate. We pay what oil is worth. We never butt our nose in over there. We are just a country that is a customer like everyone else. Do you really believe there would be such extreme hate for us? Do you really think they have the same hate for every other country out there, but they wanted to take on the toughest first?

Don't let this imply that it excuses their actions. I'm just saying, everything that happens there is driven by oil and our need for it and their hatred for us being in their buisness. ("Their" being the radicals not the rich ruling families taking our money.)