Of Course it's All About the Oil

Editor on 12/26/06

It has been a fascinating experience watching and listening to critics of the Bush administration explain the motive for the push to war with Iraq.

I have friends who to this day believe without question Bush knew all about the planning of 9-11 and did nothing to avoid it happening. The goal all along was to get us into a war with Iraq.

I have heard many claim to this day that Bush did it all to get back at Saddam for trying to assassinate his "daddy" on a diplomatic visit to the Middle East years ago.

I have heard many claim it is all about the oil. It was all a plot by Bush, Cheney and Company to line their greedy Republican pockets with all that oil money. The boy's club on steroids.

The third group actually has some merit although their idea of motive is wrong. It was not about Bush and team lining their pockets. I really don't have to explain how flat out stupid is such reasoning. However, they are right when they say it is all about the oil.

Let everyone get this point straight. Our country's economy and safety depends on oil. We live in an oil-driven society; not just Texas ranchers or New York stockbrokers, but also the Hollywood elite who pull up to anti-war benefits in their Hummers and then jet off to St. Bart's for a three-week $100,000 holiday. Without oil our country could evolve into a state of anarchy in a finite period of time. Oil is as vital to the United States interests as it is for any country on the planet.

Does anyone notice how forms of economic competition are shifting worldwide? As Thomas Friedman detailed in "The World is Flat," technology has changed the gameboard play. Access is far easier in the computer age with Internet. Two Asian giants; China and India are emerging as the most noticeable new players and they intend to stay for keeps. Russia remains in play as well. Everybody is primarily concerned with securing as many key resources as possible, knowing how essential resources are and that the supply may not last that much longer.

Those who take the position that we must weed ourselves from oil consumption are absolutely correct. Not only would it relieve our dependency from an resource we lack but would get us the hell out of the Mid-east once and for all.

It is obvious we face a monstrous uphill struggle. I personally believe that the challenge is less driven by developing the new energy sources but freeing ourselves from the oil company lobbies that face their own death sentence. It will be reversing generations of American oil habit and it is the challenge of our time.

If we do not free ourselves from oil dependency, it will ultimately be the catalyst for the destruction of our society. How freedom from oil dependency will happen is the question.

Circle in the Sand: Why We Went Back to Iraq

Editor on 12/26/06

I clearly admit that prior to 9-11 my knowledge of US history with respect to foreign policy was shaky at best. Like many, I was self-absorbed. When I saw the towers fall a mile from my home, smelled the burnt flesh and asbestos and basically survived for two years in a state of semi-shock only then did I awake and attempt to pay attention. Backdating consumed a major portion of my waking hours; it was a learning process to begin to comprehend how we arrived at that horrific point.

So many books sprung up along the way it became my personal challenge to qualify the author's position and agenda. Was the author a legitimate student of history or simply a cash hungry opportunist? It is often difficult to determine and more often accomplished only through research of an author's body of work. Attempting to discern sources and theories longevity requires some research time. Needless to say the vast majority of authors leave much to be desired in the area of legitimacy.

While making my bookstore rounds, a singular US-Iraq history hardcover volume seemed to keep catching my eye. That is quite an achievement as I have basically browsed through at least 95% of the books that are based upon Middle Eastern content since 9-11 . Well I finally picked up Christian Alfonsi's Circle in the Sand and have not been able to put it down yet.

As of today I am halfway through this fascinating book. For starters the author appears to be completely without a partisan agenda. He presents a detailed chronology of the events beginning from the first Iraq war through our present day circus. Along the way he adds fascinating details that both inform and peek further curiosity.

I continued to ponder "did the Bush administration know what it was getting itself into by removing Saddam? Did they understand the tribal histories of the peoples and the challenges they would face once Saddam was removed? How could they?" The answer is that they knew it exceptionally well. In fact, the driving force behind Bush Sr.'s absolute refusal to take out Saddam was that he did not want to drag the US into a long, unwinable Iraqi civil war. They knew all about the population and all about the possible consequences. Despite this awareness, they were eventually driven into a series of compromises to protect political capital from a very well intended but ignorant general public who could not stomach television footage pumped daily into their homes featuring Saddam and Republican Guard slaughtering thousands of Kurds, ultimately creating a terrible humanity crisis. As the media pounded home how we abounded the Iraqi people, in a campaign year public sentiment swiftly turned against a president and administration that had actually managed a tremendous achievement.

Newsweek Magazine framed the Bush Administration crisis with a cover article featuring a badly burned child under the caption "Why won't they help us." Once that topic became a national debate our mission went from removing Saddam from Kuwait, saving Saudi Arabia and the world's oil supply to one of missionary work. That led to no fly zones, partitioned sections of Iraq, an inability to leave Iraq, Turkey and most importantly Saudi Arabia.

(I will continue this fascinating book and finish the review after New Year's holiday) .