Iraq for oil?
Okay, I don't really know how I feel about the situation with Iraq, but I was wondering if anyone had some good sources that can claim with much certainty that the war with Iraq was or was not due in part to oil.
A lot of people feel strongly about this topic, but I would like to read about this from some credible sources. If someone could please point me in the right direction, that would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Abbey
2 Comments:
I'll let others point you to articles. But I'd be skeptical of both arguments, mostly because whether you believe this was a "war for oil" is a very subjective question, w/ little possibility of convincing people otherwise.
The belief that this is a war for oil comes from pointing out that Iraq does have large oil reserves. So it does play a factor in the stability of oil prices internationally (if the price of oil changed too drastically it could spark a worldwide depression). Was this considered by leaders? Probably. Is it their single or even primary motivation? I'm not sure.
On the one hand, we could argue that Bush launched the war to secure Iraq oil contracts. But we could also argue that the French, German, Russian, and Chinese opposed the war to secure their existing oil-for-food contracts. But just because you can demonstrate that there was an incentive to act on the basis of oil doesn't mean that's what actually motivated people.
The problem is the "war for oil" argument is not disprovable. Logical or scientific arguments must be disprovable. That means you state your hypothesis, and clearly also state the kinds of evidence you will accept that would convince you your hypothesis was wrong. Surely, the "war for oil" argument won't accept leaders saying that they didn't go to war for oil. So what kind of evidence will the accept? Because the argument is disprovable, it leaves little possibility to determine whether it's a true argument or not.
I don't think there is a good source out there for either arguement. as Mr. Centellas said, it is a very subjective topic. The question is; do you think our government operates on that underhanded level, or are we truly there to fight terror. Some people will attach themselves to any arguement that suggests that our govt is corrupt all the way to the top. Perhaps, sometimes, they are right. But to think that we would go to war over oil is a little ridiculous to me. Historically, there has always been a philosophical reason for us going to war (fight communism... fascism.. terrorism). I don't see why we would all of a sudden start shopping for oil with our F15s.
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