Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The Oil Grab Argument

How, excactly, was Iraq "cleary a grab for oil", as I read in the comments section on Politico.com today? And I've read and heard again and again since... well, since 1991, but mostly since 2002.

How much oil do we get from Iraq, or even from the middle east, for that matter? Last figure I saw said 17% of our oil came from the Middle East as a whole. Here's a Wiki article that says 22% in 2006.

Another article here from Dec, 2007 shows Iraq accounts for 3%.... Of our IMPORTS. We supply a good chunk (41%) of our own oil, and the next biggest chunk is supplied by Canada (9%). Pretty close to the same each from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and a little less from Mexico.

The oil in Iraq belongs to Iraq and Iraqis, which Bush promised before removing Saddam Hussein. This was clearly the plan all along. We pay, they get the dough. How does that constitute a "grab"? I don't get it. Yet people repeat it every day, ad nauseum.

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