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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (163338)	3/7/2003 8:15:36 PM
From: i-node	Respond to of 1574649

"its about oil" are trying to imply that it is about an attempt to grab Iraq's oil which it is not. CSPAN is airing a speech Tom Friedman made last night that was just superb. In that speech, he makes the point that the oil is actually a "curse" for MidEast nations, as the oil is what allows a dictator or monarchy to take over and essentially not have to respond to the people. Interestingly, he points out that Bahrain was the first in the ME to find oil, and the first to run out. They're also the first to vote in democracy. He then pointed to Iran as a second example where, when the oil runs out, democracy is established from within. The oil has run out, effectively, because of a doubling of the population over the last 20 years; as a result, the government can't continue to produce enough oil to control TWICE the population. As a result, democracy is coming to Iran (they have tasted it, and they have tasted dictatorship, and they know which they prefer). At any rate, it was interesting to have someone [correctly] point out that oil IS the problem, but it isn't that we intend to steal the oil, it is that those oil profits are being sucked up by their governments. Another interesting take is that of a 23 year old Iraqi refugee who spoke a couple weeks ago. She said everyone in IRaq believed we were coming after the oil; but they didn't care because it isn't THEIR oil anyway -- it is Saddam's. If we'll give them freedom and take the oil, they're still way ahead of the game. I think we ought to stay as far away from anything that looks like we're taking their oil as we can get.