Well, perhaps the threat of war is starting to hit a stumbling block . Doubtful, but you never know.
Also, the rise in gasoline prices lately has more to do with the Venezuelan strikes (cutting 1.5 million barrels daily) than with the threat of war in Iraq. Ironically, in response we’ve doubled our imports of oil from Iraq to 1 million barrels a day.
Now, if the US does go to war, the real reason for it is called Pax Americana. Oil may not be the only factor, but it is the primary one. The first priority in Iraq will be to secure the oil fields.
Consider this:
“Iraq possesses the world’s second largest proven oil reserves, currently estimated at 112.5 billion barrels…”
and “Iraq’s oil is of high quality and it is very inexpensive to produce, making it one of the world’s most profitable oil sources.”
This administration is run by oil people (btw, Cheney, as CEO of Haliburton, did $23.8 million worth of business with Iraq. 60 Minutes 2 is quick to report on RJ Reynolds “trading with the enemy”, but conveniently overlooks Halliburton. Liberal media indeed.)
You do the math.
Securing the oil means securing a large part of the United States’ economic necessities for global domination (uh, excuse me, “keeping world peace”.)
“Global domination? That’s just an off-the-wall crackpot theory!”
No, actually it’s not. These plans were started in 1997 by the Project for the New American Century. They considered Clinton’s policies to be detrimental to American goals “for the future”. Consider some of the authors of this plan, and what roles they have in the current administration:
Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Defense Secretary, second to Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.
John Bolton, Undersecretary of State for arms control and international security.
Eliot Cohen, member of Rumsfeld’s Defense Policy Board.
I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, VP Dick Cheney’s Chief of Staff.
Dov Zakheim, undersecretary of defense (comptroller) and chief financial officer for the Pentagon.
Stephen Cambone, heads the Office of Program, Analysis and Evaluation at the Defense Department.
Read for yourselves:
http://site.www.umb.edu/faculty/salzman_g/Strategy/Discussion/2002-10-26PaxAmericana.html
and here
By the way, the PNAC report discusses just exactly how to “sell” this issue of a Pax Americana to the public. It suggests that a “new Pearl Harbor” will be needed. Hmmmm. 9/11, anyone?