Quotes on War — Trying to Make Sense Out of Iraq
Nobody is driven in to war by ignorance, and no one who thinks he will gain anything from it is deterred by fear. - Hermocrates of Syracuse 1
I came across that saying early one morning when playing The Creative Assembly’s Rome: Total War®, and immediately, the connection to the saying was simply too striking on the supposed “misinformation” (or ignorance) propagated by the US Government upon the world.
In war, truth is the first casualty. - Aeschylus 1
In time of war, when truth is so precious, it must be attended by a bodyguard of lies. - Winston Churchill 2
And a bodyguard isn’t enough. Try the entire government machinery.
In Iraq, after the nationalization of most oil companies, the West, which was regarded as hostile by Saddam Hussein, decided to hand out contracts to France, Russia, China and elsewhere. Now that Saddam was kicked out by the GIs, a new “Constitution” was written (Oohh, guess who?) that accommodated “foreign capital” much more easily. And guess which foreign capital’s going to get their dirty hands on? Oil Companies.
With the world’s second largest proven reserve (at 112.5 billion bbl6 at 2005 estimate), Iraq is only pumping out 2.2 million bbl/day at 2005 estimate5.
Compared to Russia, which only has 74.4 billion bbl (2005 est) but producing 9.4 million bbl/day (2005 est.) 4.
Saudi Arabia, the great big Gorilla in the oil world, produces 9.475 million bbl/day (2005 est.) but has a proven reserve of 262.7 billion bbl (2006 est.)3! Talk about Iraq under-producing!
So, with a whetted appetite for a relatively untapped resource in such a huge region, the promise for profits can’t be stressed enough. As Vincent Ferraro mentioned,” …And American control over Iraq gives it the ability to use oil contracts to influence the conduct of other states: The Iraqi oil contract awarded to Mitsubishi the day after the Japanese agreed to send troops to Iraq is a dramatic example of how such power can be used.”7
With so much at stake – oil price and political stability – there’s simply too compelling a reason to go after Iraq. Oh, and it’s to vindicate Daddy Bush’s image too (he was considered a political wimp)
1 http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rome:_Total_War
2 http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill
3 https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sa.html
4 https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rs.html
5 https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html
6 One barrel of US petroleum = 158.987 295 6 liter
7 http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/courant.htm
