Was/Is Oil Supply the reason for the Iraqi War/Occupation? (1 Viewer)

[Sparcod]

I was reading from the news sites and I came across an article which said:

"THE Prime Minister has said today that the need to secure oil supplies and to help protect US interests in the Middle East are major factors in Australia's continuing military presence in Iraq."

http://www.news.com.au/comments/0,23600,22021231-2,00.html
(blog of people's comments)

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22021231-2,00.html
(full article)

I was reading the article and a handful of the comments posted on the blog. They were very interesting and they surprised me a bit. There were mixed comments. Some people had "I told you so" comments whilst others said "their excuses change all the time".

There's stuff on Yahoo on Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070705/wl_afp/australiairaqwaroil_070705034442
Australia admitted for the first time on Thursday that securing an oil supply is a key factor behind its involvement in the US-led war in Iraq

 

[jimmayyy]

i think its legitimate to say that one reason we are staying there at the moment is to help protect our allies interests in the area.

whether that was the sole reason we joined the coalition of the willing to go in the first place...i think thats a bit far fetched.

 

[banco55]

i think its legitimate to say that one reason we are staying there at the moment is to help protect our allies interests in the area.

whether that was the sole reason we joined the coalition of the willing to go in the first place...i think thats a bit far fetched.

I think the primary reason was to shore up the american alliance. Australia's contribution has never been anywhere close to enough to affect the outcome of the war.

 

[xXeMoxXxCoRexX]

How can you people be so blind

The war being "For oil" is a myth propagated by the Bush Administration to gather support for the war. If people think the war is for oil, they'll support it (since we need oil).

In reality the war has nothing to do with securing oil supplies themselves. It's all about doing as much damage as possible to Iraq and killing as many people (up to 10 million at this stage) so that Bush's mates in the giant multinational corporations can make huge profits in the war torn country.

This serves to further cement Bush's plutocratic rule against all the tenets of democracy (eg. stolen elections, the patriot act...) increasing his neo-hegemonic power. The end goal is total Corporatocratic rule over the middle east, with free reign to exploit as he sees fit, usually at the expense of the lives of millions upon millions of people.

If only it were just for oil.

 

[jimmayyy]

I think the primary reason was to shore up the american alliance. Australia's contribution has never been anywhere close to enough to affect the outcome of the war.

yeah, agreed.

oh, and to liberate an opressed people of a horrific dictator and spread democracy.

lets not forget that part of the whole shebang.

 

[Riewe]

How can you people be so blind

The war being "For oil" is a myth propagated by the Bush Administration to gather support for the war. If people think the war is for oil, they'll support it (since we need oil).

In reality the war has nothing to do with securing oil supplies themselves. It's all about doing as much damage as possible to Iraq and killing as many people (up to 10 million at this stage) so that Bush's mates in the giant multinational corporations can make huge profits in the war torn country.

This serves to further cement Bush's plutocratic rule against all the tenets of democracy (eg. stolen elections, the patriot act...) increasing his neo-hegemonic power. The end goal is total Corporatocratic rule over the middle east, with free reign to exploit as he sees fit, usually at the expense of the lives of millions upon millions of people.

If only it were just for oil.

No, it was just for oil. Which is fine by me.

The Iraq War was justified in my opinion.

 

[Snaykew]

What a modern precedent to set!

Let's invade other nations for their resources. :3

 

[Drunkass86]

Most wars are started on either a religous or economic basis...let me start by saying that.

The fact is, Australia has not done much on the way of gaining any respect from the US. We defended ourselves in PNG so well we made the USA look like pussies comparitively.

I think politicians have given diplomacy the flick and gone with the gun barrel instead. Oil being the middle easts' most precious resource, and literally, the worlds, we can now see that having a monopoly on this commodity makes you very powerful indeed.

If the US did want Saddam ousted from his leadership position, why didn't it happen in 1991, when the US was outmuscling Iraqi forces quite well.

In short, oil supply is drying up, and controlling dwindling resources is a very powerful motive to go to war with.

And, to end this, has anyone else noticed...The ADF stands for Australian Defence Forces. What the hell is it doing ATTACKING some country across the other side of the world?!

 

[ZabZu]

I can think of several reasons why the US invaded Iraq.
- oil
- spread democracy
- rid Iraq of a horrific dictator, hence helping Iraqis (esp Kurds and Shi'ites)
- put pressure on Iran and Syria (since Iraq is adjacent to both countries, etc)
- neutralise an enemy of Israel and financier of Palestinian terrorism
- establish an American ally and hence US military bases

Those are the ones i know off the top of my head.

 

[jb_nc]

"spread democracy"

hahahah

 

[sthcross.dude]

america did it cause they are mean and want what is worst for everyone.

 

[Sparcod]

I can think of several reasons why the US invaded Iraq.
- oil
- spread democracy
- rid Iraq of a horrific dictator, hence helping Iraqis (esp Kurds and Shi'ites)
- put pressure on Iran and Syria (since Iraq is adjacent to both countries, etc)
- neutralise an enemy of Israel and financier of Palestinian terrorism
- establish an American ally and hence US military bases

Those are the ones i know off the top of my head.

You forgot WMDs- the most popular argument back then.

 

[Snaykew]

I can think of several reasons why the US invaded Iraq.
- oil
- spread democracy
- rid Iraq of a horrific dictator, hence helping Iraqis (esp Kurds and Shi'ites)
- put pressure on Iran and Syria (since Iraq is adjacent to both countries, etc)
- neutralise an enemy of Israel and financier of Palestinian terrorism
- establish an American ally and hence US military bases

Those are the ones i know off the top of my head.

Oil? Sure. It's now sold in US dollars rather than Euros. ^__^

Yep. We've replaced him with a weak government and directly caused the displacement of 4 million Iraqis with many more deaths.

Pressure on Iran and Syria? All the US needs to do is sit a Aircraft Carrier Group off the coast to put military pressure. Infact, this places no pressure but allows Iran to back insurgency which hits at the US. Yeh, not really a big burden on Iran.

Neutralise enemy of Israel ey.. Iran is still there. Not quite sure how active Iraq was in funding terrorism in Palestine.

Yes, they did it so they could have a military base in Iraq. >_>;

 

[sam04u]

You forgot WMDs- the most popular argument back then.

He also forgot

- For lulz

 

[Snaykew]

He also forgot

- For lulz

XD!

Yes, USA invaded Iraq for the lulz.

/b/ behaviour is creeping everywhere..

 

[ZabZu]

Not quite sure how active Iraq was in funding terrorism in Palestine.

Saddam gave money to the families of suicide bombers

 

[bshoc]

The main purpose was to achieve what has been achieved in countries like Lybia since the Iraq invasion, we can't invade every country, we can however invade one and set an example.

 

[Josie]

"spread democracy"

hahahah

Cause democracy is like, a sexually or maybe virally transmitted disease.
If we sleep with enough Iraqi's they'll become democratic.

 

[Snaykew]

Cause democracy is like, a sexually or maybe virally transmitted disease.
If we sleep with enough Iraqi's they'll become democratic.

This is how the USA spreads democracy:

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x263/snaykew/Random/Political/Havesumdemocracy.jpg

 

[BritneySpears]

It is a government's responsibility to secure uninterrupted supplies of oil for its people. The Australian Govt have done a pretty good job at that, without losing any lives. Arab embargoes are a thing of the past, John Howard deserves credit for this.