From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: September 18, 2007 4:18:17 PM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Fwd: Greenspan, Kissinger: Oil Drives U.S. in Iraq, Iran
Alan Greenspan acknowledged what is blindingly obvious to those who
live in the reality-based world: The Iraq War was about oil.
Henry Kissinger says in an op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post that
oil is the key issue that determines whether the U.S. undertakes
military action against Iran.
These statements would not be remarkable but for the effort of a
broad swath of the U.S. political establishment --Democrats as well
as Republicans-- to deny the central role of oil in U.S.
involvement in the Middle East.
See what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage.
From: "Jim S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: September 18, 2007 2:39:36 PM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Greenspan, Kissinger: Oil Drives U.S. in Iraq, Iran
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*Greenspan, Kissinger: Oil Drives U.S. in Iraq, Iran*
By Robert Weissman
September 17, 2007
Alan Greenspan had acknowledged what is blindingly obvious to those
who live in
the reality-based world: The Iraq War was largely about oil.
Meanwhile, Henry Kissinger says in an op-ed in Sunday's Washington
Post that
control over oil is the key issue that should determine whether the
U.S.
undertakes military action against Iran.
These statements would not be remarkable, but for the effort of a
broad swath of
the U.S. political establishment to deny the central role of oil in
U.S.
involvement in the Middle East.
Greenspan's remarks, appearing first in his just-published memoirs,
are
eyebrow-raising for their directness:
"Whatever their publicized angst over Saddam Hussein's 'weapons of
mass
destruction,' American and British authorities were also concerned
about violence
in the area that harbors a resource indispensable for the
functioning of the
world economy. I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient
to acknowledge
what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."
His follow-up remarks have been even more direct. "I thought the
issue of weapons
of mass destruction as the excuse was utterly beside the point," he
told the
Guardian.
Greenspan also tells the Washington Post's Bob Woodward that he
actively lobbied
the White House to remove Saddam Hussein for the express purpose of
protecting
Western control over global oil supplies.
"I'm saying taking Saddam out was essential," Greenspan said. But,
writes
Woodward, Greenspan "added that he was not implying that the war
was an oil grab."
"No, no, no," he said. Getting rid of Hussein achieved the purpose
of "making
certain that the existing system [of oil markets] continues to
work, frankly,
until we find other [energy supplies], which ultimately we will."
There's every reason to credit this view. U.S. oil companies
surely have designs
on Iraqi oil, and were concerned about inroads by French and other
firms under
Saddam. But the top U.S. geopolitical concern is making sure the
oil remains in
the hands of those who will cooperate with Western economies.
Henry Kissinger echoes this view in his op-ed. "Iran has legitimate
aspirations
that need to be respected," he writes -- but those legitimate
aspirations do not
include control over the oil that the United States and other
industrial
countries need.
"An Iran that practices subversion and seeks regional hegemony --
which appears
to be the current trend -- must be faced with lines it will not be
permitted to
cross. The industrial nations cannot accept radical forces
dominating a region
on which their economies depend, and the acquisition of nuclear
weapons by Iran
is incompatible with international security."
Note that Kissinger prioritizes Iranian (or "radical") control over
regional oil
supplies over concern about the country acquiring nuclear weapons.
One might reasonably suggest that Greenspan and Kissinger are only
pointing out
the obvious. (Kissinger himself refers to his concerns about Iran
as "truisms.")
But these claims have not been accepted as obvious in U.S.
political life.
The Iraq was "is not about oil" became a mantra among the pro-war
crowd in the
run-up to the commencement of hostilities and in the following
months. A small
sampling --
Said President Bush: The idea that the United States covets Iraqi
oil fields is a
"wrong impression." "I have a deep desire for peace. That's what I
have a desire
for. And freedom for the Iraqi people. See, I don't like a system
where people
are repressed through torture and murder in order to keep a
dictator in place.
It troubles me deeply. And so the Iraqi people must hear this loud
and clear,
that this country never has any intention to conquer anybody."
Condoleeza Rice, in response to the proposition, "if Saddam's
primary export or
natural resource was olive oil rather than oil, we would not be
going through
this situation," said: "This cannot be further from the truth.
He is a threat
to his neighbors. He's a threat to American security interest.
That is what the
president has in mind." She continued: "This is not about oil."
Colin Powell: "This is not about oil; this is about a tyrant, a
dictator, who is
developing weapons of mass destruction to use against the Arab
populations."
Donald Rumsfeld: "It's not about oil and it's not about religion."
White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer on the U.S. desire to access
Iraqi oil
fields: "there's just nothing to it."
Coalition Provisional Authority Paul Bremer: "I have heard that
allegation and I
simply reject it."
General John Abizaid, Combatant Commander, Central Command, "It's
not about oil."
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham: "It was not about oil."
"It's not about the oil," the Financial Times reported Richard
Perle shouting at
a parking attendant in frustration.
Australian Treasurer Peter Costello: "This is not about oil."
Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger: "The only thing I
can tell you is
this war is not about oil."
Jack Straw, British Foreign Secretary: "This is not about oil.
This is about
international peace and security."
Utah Republican Senator Bob Bennett: "This is not about oil. That
was very
clear. This is about America, and America's position in the
world, as the
upholder of liberty for the oppressed."
And Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen joined war-monger
Richard Perle in
calling Representative Dennis Kucinich a "liar" (or at very least a
"fool"),
because Kucinich suggested the war might be motivated in part by a
U.S. interest
in Iraqi oil.
What lessons are to be drawn from the Greenspan-Kissinger
revelations, other than
that political leaders routinely lie or engage in mass self-delusion?
Controlling the U.S. war machine will require ending the U.S.
addiction to oil --
not just foreign oil, but oil. There are of course other reasons
that ending
reliance on fossil fuels is imperative and of the greatest urgency.
More and more people are making the connections -- but there's no
outpouring in
the streets to overcome the entrenched economic interests that seek
to maintain
the petro-military nexus. A good place to start: The No War, No
Warming actions
planned for October 21~23 in Washington, D.C. and around the United
States.
http://www.nowarnowarming.org
Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based "Multinational
Monitor": http://www.multinationalmonitor.org
and director of Essential Action.
http://www.essentialaction.org
(c) Robert Weissman
This article is posted at:
http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/corp-focus/2007/000267.html
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