Will Fight for Oil

The Bush administration has been sensitive to charges that oil was a central determinant of Iraq war policy. Maintaining that oil was unrelated to US action in Iraq is odd, suggests veteran television journalist Ted Koppel, considering that protecting the flow of Persian Gulf oil has been central to US foreign policy since the mid-20th century. And he also suggests that oil is the reason why the administration won’t quickly remove troops from Iraq. Koppel traces US oil policy from its beginnings, with the 1953 overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, after he announced plans to nationalize the then-British controlled oil industry. Koppel also refers to statements from the Carter, Reagan and first Bush administrations, including those articulated by Dick Cheney, all explicit about the need to protect oil interests in the region. Construction of military bases in Iran will replace those lost in Saudi Arabia, and could preserve stability in the region. Indeed, US foreign policy in the Middle East centers on oil and admitting as much could be the first step to ending what Bush calls the country’s “addiction to imported oil.” – YaleGlobal