Well Peter, this is what comes of empire building….

[The Whiskey Priest]

Words spoken Harry Morant to Peter Hancock in the Australian movie, Breaker Morant. Morant and Hancock were on their way to their rendezvous with a firing squad.

It might be well to remember those words at sometime during the next few years. As we stand amid the economic rubble of this country, it would be appropriate to remember them and utter, “ this is what comes of empire building.”

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. The word "empire" does something to me.....

In this day and age, why ta hell would anyone want an empire? Makes no sense unless one is a megalomaniac. Guess I just answered my own question.

[Melynn]

2. The only reason to build an empire today is for oil and money.

Neo-cons want to control Middle Eastern oil in order to control China. China is going to need a significant amount of Middle Eastern oil in the future and the neo-cons want to control that oil supply to have some leverage on the Chinese.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, neo-cons turn their attention to China as America's next evil bogey man enemy. 9/11 gave the cons an excuse to invade Iraq and put a permanent U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf. Remember Richard Clarke talking about the Bush administration wanting to invade Iraq before 9/11? Clarke also said that soon as 9/11 happen, Bush & Co. wanted to pin the blame on Iraq even though there was no evidence that Hussein had anything to do with the attacks. Bush & Co. had their eyes on Iraqi oil long before 9/11.

If the U.S. needs to engage in empire building in order to get control of the oil, so be it, in the view of neo-cons.