Iraq: There for Their Oil?

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
21

[quote]thabigdon24 wrote:
Its great to see that we dont have a bunch of sniveling pu$$e$ in here.

Seriously though more facts and im against the conflict in iraq i just want to be away for the right reasons -

  • We were buying oil before the conflict.
    Sadaam don’t care; he’s a greedy ba$%ard and was happy to sell us oil.

  • Now we have to prop up the oil bidness in iraq and actually you could look at the whole iraq conflict as an enormous " tax " that wasn’t there before. I know bush the ol’ yale MBA is gonna look at this w/ a bidness perspective. Check it out dubya - we’re losing money.

[/quote]

You are right. It is cheaper to buy the oil than it is to invade and fight a war and still pay for the oil.

Oil is part of the equation, but it is not some hidden conspiracy. It is pretty much out in the open.

If Iraq didn’t have oil, maybe we wouldn’t have invaded. If my aunt had balls she would be my uncle.

22

It’s not all buying cheap oil, it’s about having control/influence over the recources in the future.Saudi Arabia is very unstable, what happens when they have a revolution like in Iran. Than the we have a problem.

And please don’t tell me the Usa invaded Iraq to free the peopl, that just BS. There so many dictators out there, where the people are suffering so much more(can you say Africa).

BTW Canada’s oil is just dirty sand.

23

[quote]macco wrote:
It’s not all buying cheap oil, it’s about having control/influence over the recources in the future.Saudi Arabia is very unstable, what happens when they have a revolution like in Iran. Than the we have a problem.

And please don’t tell me the Usa invaded Iraq to free the peopl, that just BS. There so many dictators out there, where the people are suffering so much more(can you say Africa).

BTW Canada’s oil is just dirty sand.[/quote]

You are right.

Canada’s tar sand is making a lot of people a lot of money. As demand for oil climbs it becomes more feasible to extract the oil. I wish I had some of that dirty sand myself.

24

[quote]HouseOfAtlas wrote:
macco wrote:
@HouseOfAtlas
http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/oil.html

By the way, tell me another reason to go the country with second biggest oil reserves in the world.

Funny! You get a source from an extreme liberal. Find a neutral source, please.

And for the reason we went to the country with the second biggest oil reserves in the world (supposedly) was to capture a guy that is one of the biggest mass murderers on our planet.

Would you want Saddam running our country? Would you want Saddam on our streets?
[/quote]

Happy as most of us are about Saddam being captured, the White House’s main argument for war, at least publicly, was WMDs. The shift toward the Saddam argument occurred after the invasion when no WMDs were found. Maybe Saddam was part of the White House’s reason for invading from the beginning but it was not their primary arrgument for war initially.

Why do so many conservatives argue that oil is not a legitimate reason for going to war? I thought most realists were in the conservative camp but it seems like most conservatives on this site are idealists. For a realist, going to war to for economic gain is legitimate. It is in our national interest. What is wrong with that? In the past when Europe invaded the Middle East is was for oil, and I’m pretty sure the U.S. had a hand in that. In the past U.S. foreign policy has generally been driven primarily by national interest (security/economic benefit) and secondarily for ideals (humanitarian/democratization).

Usually there is a mix of both involved. If you think we invaded Iraq purely to end oppression and bring democracy without considering the benefit of gaining a foothold on one of hte most oil-rich and unstable areas in the world, you are not giving the White House enough credit. I hope no President would be that stupid and I don’t get why some conservatives seem to argue that he is.

Zap, you nailed it.

25

[quote]JeffR wrote:
Let’s work this theory out.

Shall we?

Ok, every now and then I like to indulge psychotics in their fantasies.

For the sake of argument, let’s do it.

We invaded Iraq because of oil.

Ok. It would follow that we would secure the fields, rebuild the fields, transport the oil to the world and this extra supply would inevitably cause a decrease in oil prices, right?

More supply would lead to OPEC decreasing prices and cutting production to compete. Right?

What is happening? More production, the highest prices ever. Even given the rise of China, does anyone seriously think that the “new Iraqi oil” wouldn’t show in the market?

Ok. Another pet fantasy of the left is George H.W.'s friendship with the Saudi’s. First of all, I cannot imagine the amount of work, meetings, and bribes that it would take to force the Saudi’s to break form their own oil conglomerate. Imagine how difficult that would be. Does anyone seriously think that H.W.'s pocket, desires, and influence are that deep? Please.

So in order for the fantasy to work, the Saudis would have to repudiate OPEC, form a special alliance with W./Iraq and agree to doctor the prices. Wouldn’t it follow that the Saudi’s would agree to lower/keep production at the same rate, drive up demand, and consequently drive the prices up for maximum profits?

As usual, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your fantasies don’t hold up when subjected to the harsh light of reality.

Thanks for playing,

JeffR[/quote]

I’m glad we have JeffR and BB on here to put things in better perspective than I can. Then I don’t have to waste my time since there are more knowledgeable people out there who can put things to rest more easily. (JeffR and BB).

26

in the long run it will be very beneficial to control the Iraq oil.
or is US gonna leave someday Iraq and NOT gonna have a control over whats happening there? i really dont think so.
you got to see the big picture,THE BIG PICTURE!

27

Bush got his MBA from Harvard not Yale. Kerry went to Harvard undergrad and Boston College Law School. Bush Yale undergrad.
Two of the best educations money can buy produced two assholes money can buy.

28

Damn. Boston College is awesome. They’ve got a top 20something graduate finance program for y’all finance geeks. After i get my MBA i would love going there or George Washington U and finish the alphabets past my name if the gods are willing.

29

[quote]tumbeh wrote:
Bush got his MBA from Harvard not Yale. Kerry went to Harvard undergrad and Boston College Law School. Bush Yale undergrad.
Two of the best educations money can buy produced two assholes money can buy. [/quote]

It’s easy to say that, and even easier to type it over the Internet anonymously. However, both men are patriots and both have earned my respect.