about the OIL.....
more stuff about billy boy's hand in this war.....
sigcarlfred.blogspot.com
Thursday, June 23, 2005
It Was Never About Oil, And Other Annoying Truths
Some readers have made the argument that we went to war in Iraq for oil.
While that argument has a bit of sex appeal, we suppose, the reality is very different.
If oil was a primary reason to go to war, we could have saved ourselves hundreds of billions of dollars of war costs, simply by agreeing to lift the UN sanctions. That's right. We would have all the access to oil and we would not have incurred any of the current liabilities. Clearly, oil wasn't at the base of it.
As for US recognition of a Palestinian state in the region, American policy has been remarkably consistent: cessation of hostilities, diplomatic recognition and secure borders. That has been the focus of every single administration since 1948. There could have been a Palestinian state, of course: The UN partition plan of 1948 called for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. That was rejected. After the Arab initiated 1967 war, the Khartoum declaration precluded negotiation (land for peace) and instead demanded hostilities. History cannot be rewritten. See this and this. Them's the facts, folks.
As for US military bases, we already have bases in the region- in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.
Iraq was indeed a literate society. So was pre war Germany. We believe that the husbands, fathers, brothers and children of the victims of Saddam's rape room might have a far clearer assessment of just how bad Saddam's regime really was. That's a good enough place to start, anyway. We suppose the families of the many hundreds of thousands of found buried in vast unmarked graves might have a thing or two to add.
Mr Bush was in office for about 8 or 9 months when 9/11 happened. The transition teams had not even completed their work. It is unlikely that a war with Iraq was planned before all the new appointees knew where the bathrooms were.
What we can be sure of is that Mr Bush relied on the same intelligence Mr Clinton did.
"Earlier today, I ordered America's armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces. Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors.
Their purpose is to protect the national interest of the United States, and indeed the interests of people throughout the Middle East and around the world.
Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons...."
Read Mr Clinton's statement, here. Funny, no mention of oil. |
