Reply #27: That was the PNAC's point

[AngryAmish]

We support our wealth (including everyone owning a car, cheap stuff at Wal-Mart etc) by the flow of oil at market prices. Gulf War I happened because Saddam got Iraq and Kuwait (a large % of the crude - 15-20% I think) and was in a position to threaten Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia could not stop him. So we kicked him out of Kuwait. When he did not come to heel after, he had to be taken out. Thus Gulf War II. When everyone says it is not about the oil, it is about the oil. The US (and the rest of the developed world) will pay a higher price (OPEC is a cartel and keeps prices artificially high) in exchange for not having to seize and run those countries directly. It is cheaper to put up stooge governments in both blood and treasure.