Iraq War: It’s All About Oil, Says US Top Economist
Written by Major Tom
Filed under: Global Politics, News & Info
September 16, 2007
Former United States Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan has his life finally put on paper and he has salient points to affirm there that got the whole world listening, or wanting to listen to. In his newly-released memoir “Age of Turbulence: Adventures In A New World”, Greenspan sharply points out the Bush administrations’ misguided inclination towards overspending and further criticizes the Republicans in Capitol Hill to have had sacrificed principles for pecuniary and political gains and ended up with neither in the end.
When Alan Greenspan speaks, everybody listens. As a federal economists, Greenspan had accumulated enormous reputation for being such a great financial strategists and many sees him as the one single entity that had kept the American economy afloat all those years he was in service, despite the occurrence of major disturbances that had threatened it every now and then, like the Black Monday crash of 1987 and the boom-and-bust onslaught of the so-called dot.com economic expansion.
The most telling of all revelation in this memoir is the pronouncement by the author himself about how the Iraq War was all about or mostly because of oil. And if Alan Greenspan says so, there would always be great probability to it. Except if the economic genius has just gotten too old and weak in the head that now, he is just merely saying nonsense, like most old people do.
If you ask me, I wouldn’t be so surprise if in fact US President Bush’s military venturing into Iraq is mainly caused by the need for oil, or in protection of the oil industry either domestically in the US, or in general, for as a matter of fact, President Bush himself was once top oil executive, just like his father. He may have brought some of his old private agendas into the White House, either willfully or not. That would be not so difficult to fathom.
But what I have got a problem with is how President Bush had been posturing a different agenda all along in risking lives of American soldiers into danger zones and wasting enormous resources, such as the heroic push for democracy in the Middle East or in defense of the Homeland. It would be monumental hypocrisy if in fact Mr. Greenspan was right, and President Bush was just pretending all along to be dutiful in waging a huge and costly war in Iraq. Maybe the heavy military spending in Iraq is one symptom of the alleged inclination of the Republicans to overspend and defy any reasonable economic restraint.
For now, it is just a memoir and we all know that in any biography or autobiography, anyone can just say whatever he or she wants to say. But I am just wary that in this case, the famous person behind the memoir is not just another ageing American actor or actress, or a balding American athlete, but someone who everybody listens to whenever he opens his mouth.
Let us see how President Bush would respond to this latest smoldering issue against him and his military venture into Iraq.
Its all been about oil. You control the oil, you control the world. Oil is the only thing America does not have a monopoly of.
Comment by Schumey — September 17, 2007 @ 8:44 am
To schumey: Well said, and Greenspan theory makes all thye sense that way.Nobody should be surprised like I said.
Comment by Major Tom — September 17, 2007 @ 10:19 am
It has been oil all along. China, Russia, France and Germany at that time were doing the horse race who can get the most out of Saddam’s “still vast oil reserves” and making influence in the Middle East and the U.S. can not afford to have them all as enemies, thereby Iraq was at that time contributed to the U.S. justification by calling the Bluff, also pretending to have WMD when in fact all she has are Jihadists. And PM Chretien ended up being the Genius of them all, by seeing clearly what was that all about as compared to the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan which got the support of the public at the start and even now.. And now who is laughing, the much Maligned Chretien or the Swash Buckling “bring them on” George W.?
Comment by vic — September 17, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
Greenspan is a person who didn’t like meddling in politics so I would like to believe that the man is airing out his beef. The Iraq war is definitely crippling the U.S. economy
Comment by bw — September 17, 2007 @ 6:52 pm
at least bush is planning to reduce troop presence there
Comment by tutubi — September 17, 2007 @ 6:56 pm
Mr Greenspan, tell us something we don’t know…
Comment by pining — September 17, 2007 @ 9:45 pm
To vic: PM Chretien had always played his cards very it had seem to me…
Comment by Major Tom — September 18, 2007 @ 6:45 pm
To BW: I can’t believe really the extent of expenses in Iraq, with the snagging 100 Billion additional funding that the house had been requesting from Congress. I imagine how much it would do if done for country restructuring and development in Africa or other poor nations…
Comment by Major Tom — September 18, 2007 @ 6:49 pm
To tutubi: That’s the good thing about it but my latest reading shows how White House has really no plans of any pullout anytime soon and any troop reduction is has almost nary in effect…
Comment by Major Tom — September 18, 2007 @ 6:52 pm
To pining: You said that pining…he is one individual that had earned such experience and reputation to be so credible in every opinion he profers.
Comment by Major Tom — September 18, 2007 @ 6:54 pm
I think I had once mentioned that my main concern in this entire Iraq war are the troops — especially those returning home and readjusting to civilian life; most of which are battered souls.
But if one’s concern is the control of oil and the world, though, surreptitiously, the troops are nothing more than dispensable pawns in the whole scheme of things. Ever wonder why the sons and daughters of America’s power elite never get to serve in the front lines?
Comment by eric — September 19, 2007 @ 2:24 pm
To eric: It’s the human cost that become so grievous, even more so in a situation when a war is mainly caused by other intent than patriotism and love of country.
Comment by Major Tom — September 19, 2007 @ 8:05 pm
Anybody with half a brain than president Bush would easily see through his “patriotic” war mongering. It’s OIL OIL OIL…
Comment by snglguy — September 19, 2007 @ 11:31 pm
Oh my, this was supposed to be my post yesterday, eh ginabi na ako.
I love Greenspan. And you’re right, when he speaks, everyone listens. So far he’s one of those credible guys.
This has been what the Bush Administration been sidelining - the reason for Iraq. Now, this book will be one of my faves.
Comment by ipanema — September 20, 2007 @ 5:12 am