You're Darn Right It's About Oil

[igloo]

You're Darn Right It's About Oil

By Kerri Houston

Anti-war demonstrators - who seem to have been cryogenically frozen since the 1970s - hit the streets in full force last weekend, complete with signage, united by the anti-national security rallying cry "No Blood for Oil."

Anyone in America with any sense - including perhaps, the President - would tell you that the possible war in Iraq is not about oil, but has to do with protecting Americans at home and abroad, presenting a clear and resolute foreign policy, and protecting Saddam's neighbors and his own people from attack by his nasty weapons of mass destruction.

But they would be wrong.

It is about oil. It's about the oil that pumps out of Iraq's oil wells and into Saddam Hussein's pockets in the amount of $20B plus per year. It because of this estimated $20 - 25B that Saddam can develop and hide his arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, and continue to advance his plans to develop first-strike nuclear capabilities.

A myriad of cliches come to mind - letting the rooster into the henhouse, giving the inmates keys to the asylum - but none can adequately illustrate the magnitude of deadly power that comes to Saddam with every drip-drip-drip of drilled Iraqi oil.

Iraq has the second largest oil reserve in the world - 11%, with Saudi Arabia at 25%. A full 95% of Iraq's income is derived from oil production. In 2002, the United States imported more than a million barrels of oil a day from Iraq, providing Saddam's regime with about four billion dollars.

I can find no expert or study to tell me how much Saddam spends each year on weapons of mass destruction. The price tag for building well-protected research and production facilities, employing scientists, purchasing materials and the infrastructure needed for development, and creating an enormous military presence to guard such weapons must be astronomical. And the human cost is even greater - anecdotes from Iraqi defenders horrify as they recount human experimentation, torture and death to anyone who dare question these programs.

Opposition by France and Russia to American action in Iraq is also motivated by oil profits - not by ideology or logic - and certainly not for any humanitarian concern for oppressed, frightened, and hungry Iraqis. Russia's Lukoil and France's TotalFinaElf have significant financial stakes in Iraq, and these countries fear that if Saddam is defeated and a U.S. peacekeeping and democracy-building force is installed in Baghdad, they could lose their claims and potentially of billions of dollars in oil-related profits.

But as Saddam spends countless millions - maybe billions - on WMDs, the Iraqi people remain mired in oppression. Many factors have bred terrorism in the region; one of the primary causes is poverty. As with many countries that are large oil producers, revenues are captured by those in power. Those revenues perpetuate that singular, dictatorial power and never trickle down to ordinary citizens. These nations often have remarkably low standards of living, high illiteracy and malnutrition rates, poor or absent healthcare, and short life expectancies. The frustration is intense, and as the prospect for prosperity runs low, anger and fatalism run high. Oppressed people cannot turn that animosity toward their oppressors or they will be killed; instead its aimed at those who have the liberties that they desire - often the United States.

Although statistically Iraq is credited with 11% of the world's oil, many experts believe that there are great resources of crude yet undiscovered underneath the country. With the importation of technology, training and property rights - and under democratic rule - the Iraqi people could produce oil in a way that no other country can.

I suppose the anti-war demonstrators do not grasp any of the inherent ironies in their position; and the organizers don't care. "No Blood for Oil" - one must wonder if some of these leftist marchers are the same individuals who converge regularly on Washington, D.C. to call for the imposition of higher fuel restrictions for cars - a program known as CAFE - Corporate Average Fuel Economy. Environmentalists on the left argue that these standards will reduce our dependency on oil by making cars lighter. What they actually do is kill people.

Originally introduced in 1975, CAFE has imposed restrictions on the size and weight of cars as well as reducing the number of larger cars available on the market. In 2001, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report stating that this program may be responsible for much shedding of American blood - at least 2,000 additional traffic deaths per year. Blood for oil indeed.

A liberated Iraq will take the monies for mass destruction out of the hands of a relentless dictator, and transfer that wealth to its people. Education, healthcare, land ownership and a fair wage will go far in bringing peace to the nation and relief to Iraqi families.

This Administration is focused squarely and unequivocally on the sons and daughters of Iraq. Its policy could be summed up easily as "No More Iraqi Blood for Oil."

[igloo]

Sassa, bigpoppinails....response?.....this in an interesting take on the oil issue....agree?

[bigpoppanils]

Originally posted by igloo

You're Darn Right It's About Oil

I suppose the anti-war demonstrators do not grasp any of the inherent ironies in their position; and the organizers don't care. "No Blood for Oil" - one must wonder if some of these leftist marchers are the same individuals who converge regularly on Washington, D.C. to call for the imposition of higher fuel restrictions for cars - a program known as CAFE - Corporate Average Fuel Economy. Environmentalists on the left argue that these standards will reduce our dependency on oil by making cars lighter. What they actually do is kill people.

Originally introduced in 1975, CAFE has imposed restrictions on the size and weight of cars as well as reducing the number of larger cars available on the market. In 2001, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report stating that this program may be responsible for much shedding of American blood - at least 2,000 additional traffic deaths per year. Blood for oil indeed.

This person obviously does not pay attention to the IIHS. The biggest (thus, the worst in fuel economy) and most popular trucks in this country perfrom the WORST in crash tests. The Ford F150, Dodge Durango and Dakota, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and most of GM's trucks received marginal or poor crash test ratings. The safest trucks and SUV's? Honda Pilot, Lexus RX, Subaru Forester, Suzuki XL-7, Rav4, Hyundai Santa Fe, X5, Volvo XC90 and M-Class....the lighter suv's around...and arethe best rated in terms of fuel economy.

One can also look to Europe, where the highest rated automobiles in terms of safety are not SUV's. In fact, one the highest rated is the Renault Megane...which in diesel form averages 60mpg on the highway. If people still want their SUV's...fine. The turbo-deisel Toyota Landcruiser, XC90, X5, Grand Cherokee, Range Rover and M-Class all achive 25-30 mpg in combined city and highway driving. If one worries about diesel emissions....current legislation in Congress is in place to eliminate most harful emissions in diesel fuel by 2010.

[igloo]

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