On Thu, 05 Feb 2004 16:54:45 GMT, Juvat
wrote:

After an exhausting session with Victoria's Secret Police, Ed Rasimus
blurted out:

Since you acknowledge the perfection of hindsight, you might review
what we did after we took control of the sea of oil on which Iraq sits
in 1991. We turned control back over to Sadaam. We turned Kuwait back
over to the Kuwaitis (after we put out the fires for them.)

No argument...the Coalition of UN nations was defending the
sovereignty of Kuwait. There was no mission against the axis of evil.

The objective of Desert Storm was, as you say. The objective of Iraqi
Freedom was regime change. Regardless of the objective, the fact is
that the US has NEVER after a war expressed any form of imperialism.
We don't keep the territory we take with our blood and treasure. We
rebuild it, establish a democracy and then make a partnership with
them as the become economic giants.

It simply doesn't track that we would suddenly revert to some sort of
oppressive colonial policy.

You might want to check who buys and uses Iraqi oil--the French and
the Russians mostly. Less than 5% of American oil purchases come from
Iraq. It mostly goes to Europe and N. Asia.

Fair enough, was I mistaken when various news sources (including
FoxNews "fair and balanced"...hehe) reported that one way of paying
for our freeing the iraqi people would be through iraqi oil revenue?
Think of it as a thank you. Perhaps we will demand payment as a proper
jesture of gratitude. (So who cares where it is sold, we only need
concern ourselves with receiving a portion of the income.)

The first half of your paragraph is correct. The report, however, was
that the oil revenue could be used to support the reconstruction of
Iraqi infrastructure--in other words the oil of Iraq would build the
free nation of Iraq. Makes eminent sense to me.

There is no "demand payment" or gesture of gratitude involved.

How do you suppose we convince the iraqi authority to pay american
taxpayers for their efforts? Stop and think about that, there is no
central iraqi government...not yet anyway. We are currently
controlling (I'm happy to use the expression "administering" iraqi oil
as a euphemism). I suspect this will not always be the case, nor do I
have a crystal ball predicting when american control/administration
will end.

No one has that crystal ball, but a stable, democratic Iraq would
certainly be beneficial to the region and a stable Middle-East would
be beneficial to the US.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8