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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DMaA who wrote (336000)	1/1/2003 5:10:17 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 769670

You really think this is all about stealing Iraq's oil? >>> All about? >>> No, as I clearly said, it is not "all" about the oil. >>> Many other factors are at play as well: our on again / off again desire as a nation to cultivate Democracies around the World, >>> our wish to straddle the geo-politically important Middle East (a desire we inherited from the British, circa WW I), >>> our wish to defend Israel and Israeli interests, >>> - our need as the World's largest oil importer and consumer to secure stable supplies (a little like Japan pre-WW II), >>> and defend the Saudi Royal Family's tyranny (somewhat a contradiction to our "pro-Democracy" stance listed above), >>> Dubya's desire to correct his father's single most grevious strategic mistake, >>> and avenge him (the assasination attempt... forgetting for the moment that we tried to assasinate the dictator Saddam first), >>> the demand of Empire to stride the World boldly and not be seen as ineffectual, >>> A quite natural desire to slap down an annoying pest, a murderous amoral tyrant and former "allied client", now enemy, left alive and embittered by our previous military strikes. >>> A rational desire to remove this military and economic risk from our nation's future. >>> But, as present-day military risks go... North Korea is a far greater one. They possibly already have a few nukes. They have ballistic missiles. They have the World's third or fourth largest army... and are posed within easy striking distance of our troops, and the capitals and economies of two of our most important allies: South Korea and Japan. >>> North Korea is lead by a truly mad man... not just a calculating and murderous tyrant like Saddam. As many have said: Saddam is homicidal, but not suicidal... unlike the Loony Toons running the North, who thinks he is a GOD. >>> So, after adding up all the above... I would have to conclude that the main reason we are going after Iraq (while hiding our heads in the sand, and hoping that the North Korean danger will just go away, and back-paging the al Qaeda threat) is that Iraq is "doable". >>> It is "low-hanging fruit". A relatively easy conquest, a bad man to put away, and a good risk/reward ratio. >>> Lots of sweet, sweet oil to counter-balance the military and political risks. >>> North Korea, on the other-hand, is lots of risk if we do nothing, and lots of risk if we attack, and no clear reward if we win a conflict... just lots and lots of economic damage to the region, and a starvation-level society to be responsible for. >>> Al qaeda is just there... we are already committed for a long haul (the "Forever War") and, though killing lots of civilians in Iraq, and potentially bringing about the splintering of the country into Shiite, Sunii, and Kurdish fiefdoms, risks enlarging the ranks of committed terrorists (as the CIA asserts will happen)... there is still all that oil to counter-balance the downside.