Is the war in Iraq REALLY all about oil? What do you think?

[weshoottokill]

First I would like to say, thanks for stating your argument in a respectful and well spoken way. This is something that I don't really see from the right anymore. But my disagreement would be that this war is more for the profit of corporations in the United States rather than the American people. There was a large conflict of interest in the Bush administration, where much of the administration stood to make a very big profit for themselves.

[CuteChongAlt]

I just heard on a quick news cast tonight that they're bringing the solders home little by little. YAY!!

My own personal opinion was and still remains it's not about oil. It's about revenge. I'm sure it goes deeper than that but I doubt Obama has a thing to do with it. Seems to me like Obama is more worried about things HERE let-alone over there. Though I've never stayed awake during his speeches so I don't know the full story.

[bczot]

The invasion of Iraq was about oil reserves NOT production and Iraq has not been surveyed for over 25 years but even on that old information Iraq has the 2nd or 3rd largest oil reserves in the world. Its production will be the highest in the world in less than 2 years thanks to deals that have been signed by all the big oil companies.

Watch Iraq Has World's 3rd-Largest Oil Reserves - Bloomberg

[Biggunz100]

I believe the oil/good'ole boy get rich scam before I will ever believe that the Bush administration actually believed that Iraq had WMD's. We had over 10 years of weapon inspections in Iraq and zero WMD's. Mr. Bush comes into office, 9/11 happens and within 6 months Cheney found WMD's. A couple more years go by and we find out that the sole info for Iraq having WMD's comes from a disenfranchised Iraqi that was given the codename "Curveball" by our intelligence agencies.

[Biggunz100]

@Biggunz100 Then you factor in all the no-bid contracts the were given to Halliburton (who was not the best company for the job and lost the contract to Dynacorp when it went to open bids)...This whole Iraq War sounds and smells corrupt and criminal.

[gfreakj]

I like the way you present your info. Very non confrontational. Very digestible. Well done.

[ResearchForTruth75]

The truth always comes out when applying facts and logic. No wonder liberals still think Iraq was about oil. Dumbasses.

[1rishShaman]

We need land. They have land.

We are more developed than them. They are less developed than us.

Therefor we can take their land by force and still appear more civilized.

The media catches on and we make a somewhat hasty retreat and say that we helped civilize them.

Simple, no?

[MarxIsDead]

@1rishShaman, thx for your comment! This is an interesting theory. When you look at population density by nation, the U.S. ranks 168th with 29.77 people per square kilometer. Iraq is ranked 142 with 51.9 per sq kilometer, almost twice as high as the U.S. It seems that the U.S. doesn't need any land, and that we have more than enough land on which to continue growing and spreading out. I could be wrong though. Thanks again for your comment. MID

[1rishShaman]

@MarxIsDead - I guess I should have clarified, cheap land or a place where big businesses and organisations can go to in order to pay a lower tax or no tax at all. Here in Ireland there has been a lot of companies coming over from the US and while that isn't a problem they pay little to no tax. The Irish government was voting to increase their tax to the normal level of smaller businesses but the big businesses declined the offer and continue to trade under the recommended tax bracket.

[1rishShaman]

Now I'm not going on a big rant about "oh the big businesses are all bad", more the angle about how the US seems to think its the "father" in the world and the most dominant, with a right to stick its nose in other countries domestic issues. We come in to remove "insurgency", We kill people (mostly civilian) and do horrendous industrial damage wiping out business, We come in and offer support with our companies to rebuild and repair, We then set up businesses all over their land

[thebackbencher666]

omg volume...

[MarxIsDead]

@thebackbencher666, hey there... is it coming across to you as too loud or too soft?

[thebackbencher666]

@MarxIsDead to low sir...

[LokiScoutSniper]

It would have been cheaper to drill here and easier to overturn restrictions here ten years to do so tops going on ten plus years at war soon. Not to mention the Iraqis are not going to just lay down and say take it. So we would have bought it on top of the cost of war. I think Iraq should pay us for the money spent to liberate them especially since they asked for a few billion to rebuild Baghdad. And guess who got the first deals with Iraq for oil, China did not us. So you be the judge.

[MarxIsDead]

@LokiScoutSniper, yes - the trend continues... the Arab world asks us to do their dirty work, so we get rid of their despotic monsters for them per their pleas and requests, then they sit back and get filthy rich on oil revenues, then they complain about U.S. intervention that THEY requested, complaining about the oil THEY sold to us, and then they fly airplanes into our buildings and kill our children. Such a great partnership!!!

[LokiScoutSniper]

@MarxIsDead Yep and the reason the world looks at America so dumbfounded is because we have sided with the weak and innocent so often in the past hundred years, which is a rare commodity that they can only assume we did it for some other reason than freedom. Our prosperity is based on freedom and capitalism which need each other. And we want that for the world. Is America perfect no, but we strive. Should we be the world police no, but since WWII we've seen what isolationism leads to, duty.