Other than the interest in the free flow of ME oil, what vital national interest do we have in the ME?
If we were not dependent on ME oil, I assure you that our interest in the region would be minimal. In the absence of the need to protect the free flow of ME oil, we could devote the huge amounts of resources expended on the Iraq war on effectively protecting ourselves against terrorism, an effort which, by the way, is not going so well. After 9/11, we would not have had to the need to invade any country, Afghanistan excepted.
Don't kid yourself, it's about oil. If the ME did not in fact have such an enormous amount of it, our efforts to promote democracy, end dictatorships, etc., in the region would have simply not taken place. We would have no more interest in how the region is ruled than we do in how the various African countries, which are mostly backward resource-free kleptocracies, are governed.
It's a hypothetical discussion since we are in fact dependent on ME oil. That doesn't mean it is a bad idea to do whatever we can now to reduce it. |
