Why Are We in Iraq Again?

In the Spring of 2003 the US was largely in favor of war in Iraq. Our purpose was simple: invade, topple brutal dictator, find and remove weapons of mass destruction. Self-defense required us to act. “We [could] not let the smoking gun come in the form of a mushroom could” opined Condi, then Donald, then Dick.

Today this once clear intent for our involvement in Iraq is muddied. Why are we in Iraq? I don’t deny that there is the ‘you break it, you fix it’ element to why we are still there. As Colin Powell told President Bush before the war, “You will own all their hopes, aspirations, and problems. You’ll own it all.” In this sense, perhaps our mission today is just.

That given, our purpose for invasion in the first place must be called into question. Powell’s ‘Pottery Barn rule’ is ex post facto, it may be the right thing to do now, but we already invaded on the premise of prevention. For what? We didn’t find any WMD’s after all. So, were we really interested in WMD’s and just got bait and switched with this mission to instill democracy? I don’t know. I do know that the fundamental question that must be answered is this: If the world economy was powered by corn, would we be in Iraq today? I believe that no, we would not. That conclusion is inescapable.

I’m not insinuating that this war plot was hatched to seize oil fields, like every war, this one came about for a myriad of reasons. What I insist upon is that our wars, Iraq and Terror, would not exist without oil fields. 9/11 did not happen because of an ‘intelligence failure.’ It was a byproduct of decades of insidious American intervention in the Middle East because of oil. Oil, not the region - not the religion, is the common thread.

There is a lot of aversion to the idea that oil motivates our presence in Iraq. It is as if conceding this notion equates our government as something other than moralistic and righteous - not the same government who saved the world in WWII. But, the world has changed a lot since then.

The good Lord didn’t see fit to put oil and gas only where there are democratically elected regimes friendly to the United States. Occasionally we have to operate in places where, all things considered, one would not normally choose to go. But, we go where the business is.

Vice President Dick Cheney - Speech delivered at the Cato Institute, June 23, 1998

First off, that picture is hilarious… is it a real picture or is it photoshopped?
Also, this article bares traces of one written on your older website.. and I am forced to agree. There are no morals in this war.. both U.S. troops and Iraqi’s have proven that. The simple fact of it is, when we first invaded our troops did not secure necessary government buildings or ensure the protection of civilians, we secured oil fields and its infrastructure. Our troops did not give a second thought about some of the greatest archaeological finds this world has seen (I believe the first sample of writing, of any sort of writing was housed in a Baghdad museum) and as such humanity’s history has been looted. Nor was it only Iraqi’s who looted those artifacts; I personally know of one soldier who returned home from his first tour with a circa 200 BCE funeral mask. Fortunately for posterity’s sake he donated it to the Smithsonian.
This war, one way or another, is fought over oil. While morals and our own defense brought the American public into allegiance with the war, we often forget that if we as the masses had understood world trade, economics and our dependance on oil we would be much more inclined to realize we were in many ways RIGHT to go for that oil. Oil is dwindling and if we hadn’t gone in, Russia, China or even Saudi Arabia would have instead. That would have in turn prompted us to act. Perhaps we prevented a clash of world powers by disobeying the United Nations.
It is not that a faction of Islam necessarily HATES Americans.. rather we have proven that we are not afraid to trod on a few feet and faces to achieve our own happiness. They hate our actions, and more importantly, they despise that we look at them as ignorant little foster brothers.
There is nothing wrong with admitting our addiction to oil. In fact, recognizing that we have a problem is the first step. So now, America, lets not let this addiction get the better of us. Wars over oil, from Mexico and the rest of the Western hemisphere, to the Middle East and Afghanistan, have cost nearly as much as the war on drugs or alcohol.. and certainly more then our wars on human rights. Lets get it together before some catastrophe forces us to.