[Vision2020] Parade magazine -10 Worst Living Dictators

[Ted Moffett]

Dale, et al.

Your argument it seems tends to assume nations are functioning in some sort 
of isolation from each other in terms of what nations provide their source 
of oil influencing their foreign policy.  In fact, US economic interests are 
solidly linked to assuring oil from the middle east can reach many other 
countries in the world due to the impact the economies of these countries 
have on our economy.  And besides this, multinational corporations see the 
entire world economy as their domain and do not necessarily function as 
though they are loyal to one nation.  These corporations influence US 
foreign policy.  You have heard of Halliburton and know what member of our 
current US government was once a critical player in that corporation?

Even assuming your facts on percentages of sources for oil for different 
nations are correct, more direct US access to the Iraq oil fields could 
still represent an economic boost to US economic interests, which of course 
are critically linked to Europe anyways.

Your statement that Europe is currently more involved in Iraq oil than the 
US actually bolsters the argument that this war is about oil.  Thus we have 
European nations France and Germany resisting the US invasion of Iraq, which 
they might view as the US stealing their economic advantage because of the 
US obtaining more influence over Iraq oil resources if we can install a new 
government in Iraq friendly to US economic and petroleum interests.

Ted

>From: "Dale Courtney" <dale@courtneys.us>
>To: "'Vision 2020'" <vision2020@moscow.com>
>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Parade magazine -10 Worst Living Dictators
>Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 06:51:12 -0800
>
>Ted wrote:
> > Does anyone really think that if Iraq had zero oil, Israel
> > was removed from
> > the equation, and Iraq really represented a military force that could
> > inflict mass causalities against US forces, instead of this
> > pending "war"
> > being more like shooting fish in a barrel, that we would be
> > so eager to
> > invade rather than adopt a strategy of containment?
>
>I'll preface my remarks by saying that I'm no fan of this war. However, I
>really don't believe that this is about oil.
>
>At present, oil companies from France, Russia, and China have contracts to
>help develop Iraqi oil fields. Europe depends far more upon oil from Iraq
>than America (only about 6% of U.S. oil comes from Iraq). Oil from Iraq,
>indeed oil from the entire Middle East, ranks higher among European 
>national
>interests than American.
>
>For some years, the United States has been moving to draw the preponderance
>of its oil from our own hemisphere, mostly from Canada, Mexico, and
>Venezuela, and to cut back steadily on its use of Middle Eastern oil, to 
>the
>level now of 26 percent of its annual. Europe is far more dependent on 
>Iraqi
>oil, and far more involved with the Iraqi oil industry.
>
>Dale Courtney
>Moscow, Idaho
>
>
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