The War for Oil: A Critical Examination of US Foreign Policy

Strategic Insights -

As I watched two women marching around the Aspen Mountain ski lift, protesting against war in Iraq, I was struck by the irony of the scene. The same auto traffic whizzing by them, with gas-guzzling vehicles and Humvees, made me wonder if the war being prepared by the Bush team was indeed about oil. My answer is yes, the war is partly about oil, but whether it's acknowledged or not depends on how the US behaves before and after the invasion.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Bush team's behavior, particularly in targeting Saddam Hussein while being more diplomatic with North Korea, suggests that oil is a primary motivator in the planned invasion of Iraq.
  • The US is concerned that Saddam could acquire weapons of mass destruction, which would give him leverage over the Persian Gulf's oil resources, rather than seeking to control the oil directly.
  • Michael Mandelbaum, a Johns Hopkins foreign policy expert, argues that Saddam's oil wealth has been used to wage war against his neighbors and acquire WMD, making it difficult to justify a war solely to control oil.
  • A war for oil would be legitimate if the US accompanies it with a real program for energy conservation and helps Iraqis build a progressive, democratizing Arab state.
  • The US must demonstrate that its actions are to protect the world's access to oil at reasonable prices, not just its own right to consume excess oil.
  • Occupying Iraq and handing out drilling concessions to US oil companies alone would be seen as immoral, while using oil income to benefit all Iraqis and create a model for its neighbors would be a critical step toward building a better Middle East.

Statistics:

  • 82nd Airborne is the US military unit being deployed to Iraq.
  • North Korea has nuclear weapons, missiles to deliver them, and a record of selling dangerous weapons to anyone with cash.
  • 100,000 US troops are stationed in North Korea's missile range.
  • Saddam Hussein has been accused of being cruel to his own people.

Sources:

  • The article does not provide specific sources or citations, but it references Michael Mandelbaum, a Johns Hopkins foreign policy expert and author of "The Ideas That Conquered the World."