Posted by sean at 170.148.10.49 on March 14, 2003 at 17:11:59:
In Reply to: no offense meant here, kev...... posted by DRD #37 on March 14, 2003 at 16:41:21:
: ....but I, personally, wouldn't suggest that oil is the reason we're going to war with Iraq. Most of our oil doesn't really come from the Middle East, and if our reserves there ever got cut off, we could just as easily (and very legally) begin drilling in Alaska again, despite what the Peace Corps. may say. Oil is, most likely, NOT the reason we're attacking Iraq.
the crux of the "it's all about the oil" arguement (which I don't neccessarily agree with, at least not completely) is that, while the US itself gets most of its oil from other places, much of the rest of the world is primarily dependent on the Middle East. Not only that, but the prevailing theory goes on to include that nations like China will soon be importing a large percentage (anywhere from 1/4 to 1/3) of their oil from the Mid-East, of which Iraq has the most oil ... the idea being, if China starts dealing with them directly for the oil, bad things could happen ... but if we control it, then we have some power over the people who need it as well. It's not about *our* oil, it's about oil-as-power-in-the-world.
Or so I understand, anyway...