Are we fighting a war for resources in the ME?

[slipslidingaway]

Poll question: Are we fighting a war for resources in the ME?

[jmp]

1. I think "greed" is a better word for it.

...

[slipslidingaway]

3. For some people it is greed, others believe we need the

resources and need to control them, so I think the motive can be different.

[jmp]

15. We call those people neo-cons (nm)

...

[nightrider767]

2. Hey!!!! Must Be The Money!!!!

:bounce:

[slipslidingaway]

4. See my reply #3. n/t

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

5. No, but we thought we were. (We are wicked AND dumb)

[slipslidingaway]

6. We still might be, it just could be more difficult than imagined. n/t

[Dancing_Dave]

7. Yeah, it's all about the Petrodollars

And the oil companies are making record profits, so it's "working" in the only way the Bush crime family cares about.

It's hard for me to imagine that anyone could be to stupid to figure it out-- but then again most of our corporate lackey "journalists" are either to stupid or to cowardly to tell the obvious truth!

[slipslidingaway]

8. And also maybe the value of the dollar. Many people are aware,

they would just like to forget :(

[radiclib]

9. OK who voted no?

And what planet are you visiting from? :rofl:

[OHdem10]

10. We are fighting to have troops available near Straut if Hormeus

in the event Iran or someother not so friendly power tried
to stop the stream of ships some of which are oil tankers.

This is the only way out of ME for oil.

There are other reasons but Oil Tankers getting the oil out
to the rest of the world on time is a constant reason for
concern. Iran sits right up there on the bank.

[slipslidingaway]

12. Why invade Iraq to do that? We have enough air power to

overcome anyone if they tried to block the Strait of Hormuz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Hormuz

"Operation Praying Mantis
Main article: Operation Praying Mantis

On 18 April 1988, the U.S. Navy waged a one-day battle against Iranian forces in and around the strait. The battle, dubbed Operation Praying Mantis by the U.S. side, was launched in retaliation for the 14 April mining of the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58). U.S. forces sank two Iranian warships and as many as six armed speedboats in the engagement.


The downing of Iran Air 655
Main article: Iran Air Flight 655

On July 3, 1988, 290 people were killed when an Iran Air Airbus A300 passenger jet was shot down over the strait by the United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes. There is still lingering controversy about the event, considered among the most controversial tragedies in aviation history."

[nightrider767]

13. Permanent Iraqi bases are different

than anything air power could ever hope to be. Our air power has it's limits. We have to move battle groups into the areas, and just moving them there is an implied threat.

Having permanent US bases always keeps the axe over their heads. It's an always present implied threat, so everyone knows who's the boss.

This war isn't even about oil, it's about the money.

When is America going to wake up and realize it's time to start powering our cars with something else besides oil?




:banghead:

[slipslidingaway]

17. I understand what you are saying, thanks. n/t

[slipslidingaway]

11. Thanks for all the votes, please keep kicked for more

votes and replies.

[SergeyDovlatov]

14. Not for resources. For enrichment of some people / companies ...

in military industrial complex, oil development companies.

Also, for some idealistic ideas of PNAC.

http://www.newamericancentury.org

American foreign and defense policy is adrift. Conservatives have criticized the incoherent policies of the Clinton Administration. They have also resisted isolationist impulses from within their own ranks. But conservatives have not confidently advanced a strategic vision of America's role in the world. They have not set forth guiding principles for American foreign policy. They have allowed differences over tactics to obscure potential agreement on strategic objectives. And they have not fought for a defense budget that would maintain American security and advance American interests in the new century.

We aim to change this. We aim to make the case and rally support for American global leadership

Our aim is to remind Americans of these lessons and to draw their consequences for today. Here are four consequences:

• we need to increase defense spending significantly if we are to carry out our global
responsibilities today and modernize our armed forces for the future;


• we need to strengthen our ties to democratic allies and to challenge regimes hostile to our interests and values;


• we need to promote the cause of political and economic freedom abroad;


• we need to accept responsibility for America's unique role in preserving and extending an international order friendly to our security, our prosperity, and our principles.

Elliott Abrams Gary Bauer William J. Bennett Jeb Bush
Dick Cheney Eliot A. Cohen Midge Decter Paula Dobriansky Steve Forbes
Aaron Friedberg Francis Fukuyama Frank Gaffney Fred C. Ikle
Donald Kagan Zalmay Khalilzad I. Lewis Libby Norman Podhoretz
Dan Quayle Peter W. Rodman Stephen P. Rosen Henry S. Rowen
Donald Rumsfeld Vin Weber George Weigel Paul Wolfowitz

[mmonk]

16. .

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/mmonk/26

[slipslidingaway]

18. Sorry I missed your original post, too often we see many of the

same names and hardly anyone is willing to challenge and speak the truth :(

[slipslidingaway]

19. Gen. Abizaid... Of course it’s about oil, we can’t really deny that

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/15/abizaid-middle-east-gas-station/

"Abizaid has previously argued that the U.S. would need “to keep a long-term military presence in Iraq” in order to protect “the free flow of goods and resources” such as oil, but his Stanford comments go much further in pinning oil as a prime motivator for the war.

The Bush administration, however, still denies any connection between the war in Iraq and America’s geopolitical interest in Middle East oil. Just last month, after former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan wrote that “the Iraq War is largely about oil,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates rejected the notion, saying “I just don’t believe it’s true“:"