Debunking the Oil Myth --Part 9:
Similarly the argument that this is a war for oil misses the point that such a war, however immoral would at least have a rational basis in attempting to secure important resources. Yet, before embarking on war, the U.S. was getting all the oil it wanted from Iraq and war has only curtailed these supplies, and could conceivably threaten other oil suppliers. The best way to secure Middle East oil would have been to seriously grapple with the Israeli Palestinian conflict and avoid war with Iraq at all costs. Paul Wolfowitz, chief architect of this war has been quoted as saying: "If we're not true to our principles, we're not serving our national interest." He believes that war on Iraq will engender more democracy in the Middle East and "the tendency toward successful representative self-government works for the benefit of the United States." ("First Stop Iraq," Time Magazine, 3.31.03) It's difficult to see how the reputedly brilliant Wolfowitz can actually believe this rubbish since everybody knows that a democratic Middle East would work against Israel's interests. Perhaps such talk is the way policy makers convince themselves of the justice of their cause. But in any event it should be clear that the Bush war policy is not a rational solution to the problem of scarce and valuable resources and has little to do with real world problem solving. Rather it is an ideological and messianic vision of pursuing a permanent war agenda by way of destroying Israel's enemies.
Similarly, the charge that this is a war to further U.S. imperialist aims misses the point that the U.S. already dominates the world, politically, militarily and economically. It is already a hyper-imperialist power.
The historical record shows that in the real world, hegemony never has been a winning grand strategy. The reason is simple: The primary aim of states in international politics is to survive and maintain their sovereignty. And when one state becomes too powerful - becomes a hegemon - the imbalance of power in its favor is a menace to the security of all other states. So throughout modern international political history, the rise of a would-be hegemon always has triggered the formation of counter-hegemonic alliances by other states. (Sniegoski, op cit.)
As an imperialist power there is little more that the United States could wish for aside from redrawing the Middle East map in order to eliminate Israel's enemies. But Israel has enemies because it dominates and represses Arab peoples in order to consolidate a Jewish state in the former Palestine. It's possible that the enormous military power of U.S. can help to enforce the most grandiose Israeli expansion plans, but this is an uncertain prospect for the long term. By opting for unprovoked aggression against Israel's enemies, the U.S. is embarking on a project beyond imperialism, and moving toward world war and Armageddon.
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