This past Friday the 3,500th American soldier was killed in Iraq. Thirty-five hundred of our young men and women have had their lives yanked from them in a senseless and unnecessary war.
Why are we there? How long are we going to stay? These are just two questions to which I would like the answers.
As near as I can figure there are many reasons why we are there: OIL, weapons of mass destruction, to dispose of Saddamn, OIL, free the Iraqi people, revenge for the 9/11 attacks, to bring democracy to the Middle East, OIL, to get a presence in the Middle East and OIL.
Did I mention OIL? Iraq has the second largest oil field in the world and our neo-cons want it. And our Big Oil wants it. Oh dear, what to do.
The Bush administration made plans for war and for Iraq's oil before the 9/11 attacks, sparking a policy battle between our neo-cons and Big Oil. Insiders said this planning began "within weeks" of Bush's first taking office in 2001, long before the September 11th attack on the US.
In March of 2003 - when President George Bush announced US, British and Allied forces would begin to bomb Baghdad - protesters claimed the US had a secret plan for Iraq's oil once Saddam had been conquered, but they were wrong. There were two plans, two conflicting plans.
On one side we had the neo-cons at the Pentagon and on the other side we had Big Oil and the US State Department “pragmatists”.
"Big Oil" appears to have won. The latest plan, obtained from the US State Department was in part drafted with the help of American oil industry consultants and Philip Carroll, the former CEO of Shell Oil USA took control of Iraq's oil production for the US Government a month after the invasion.
How long will we stay? I have no idea, but given the facts that the U.S. feels a need to have a commanding presence in the Middle East, and also needs to monitor the oil production and is almost finished building the largest Embassy in the world in Iraq, I don’t think we are planning on leaving anywhere in the foreseeable future.
While greedy men in over-stuffed suits fight over the profits of the Iraqi oil, our young men and women on the streets of Iraq are fighting to live another day.
Years ago a bumper sticker asked “How did our oil get under their sand?” I would still like to know the answer to that.
The California Curmudgeon
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