What do people think about the theory that the Iraq war was all about oil?

Question

Since 1971 all oil in the world has been sold in dollars (US) In 2001 Iran changed to Euros. Other countries in the middle east and south america said they would change too..........we know what happened next, the Americans invaded.

If trading in oil changes from dollars to euros (or any iother currency) it will have catestrophic effects on the american economy. To find out more see videogoogle.com and Robert Newman's history of oil.

Answer 1

You are completely correct. The Euro was introduced in 1999 so whoever said it wasn't introduced until 2002 hasn't got a clue what they are talking about. The Euro was introduced as physical banknotes in 2002 but from 1999 it was launched for bank transactions, accounting and most relevant to your question for the financial markets (i.e. you could trade oil in Euros).

The Iraq war began primarily because Iraq began selling its oil (through the oil for food program) in Euros. The harm that this does to the US economy is easy to see. $1 is worth about €1.23 - thus oil from countries that sell their oil in Euros becomes more expensive in the US.

Basically many economies rely on the strength of their currency backed by gold but in the US their currency is quite weak (e.g. nearly $2 for every British pound) and to prop up this failing currency they use oil. Higher oil prices would lead to increased interest rates and higher inflation rates and this is something that the US can ill afford. Thus when Saddam began selling in Euros something had to be done about it. Now Iran has cut dollar transactions to a minimum and we have seen what has happened to ol prices. I would hazzard a guess that many more countries may follow suit. I would hazzard a guess that maybe Venuzuela will be the next to do so.

Answer 2

There is a theory that all wars are about possession of, control of or access to natural resources whatever the superficial reason given. So why should this one be any different. As for the claim that there was no violence in Iraq before. Just ask the Kurdish villagers or the Shiites of the south or anybody who disagreed with Saddam (if they survived)
A recent report from one of the human rights groups estimated the Saddam was responsible for the death of about 2 million Iraqi citizens during his 20 something years in power. Do the arithmetic - it averages out at nearly 2000 people per week. As bad as the situations is now, it is infinitely better than before

Answer 3

Prior to the Iraq invasion and after ten years of sanctions (primarily from the USA), Saddam Hussein had instructed that SOMO (State Oil Marketing Organisation) sell all Iraqi crude in Euro in future.
Also the Iraqi crude was not to be sold to USA & UK as they were the countries imposing stringent sanctions and enforcing "no fly zones" even for Iraqi civilian airlines.
By 2000 most countries in the world had reopened their embassies in Baghdad except USA & UK.
Many tourists were returning to visit Babylon and other sites.
There was NO violence in Iraq, a foriegner could walk the streets late at night with no fear.
I know I lived in Iraq for 20 years.
If there is any justice in the world Bush and Blair should face trail to justify their actions and pay the penalty.
Unfortunatly most people only know what they see on TV (CNN & BBC) or read from newspapaers that is a product of the political propaganda system they live in.

Answer 4

I must admit that it has a lot to do with the oil. Can you
imagine what would happen if the supply of oil was
cut off? The economies of all countries would be in
total chaos. Control of the oil flow would be like controlling
the whole world and that was Saddam's dream, first on
the list was Kuwait and then the other OPEC nations. If
it wasn't for America and GB he might have succeeded.
When his plan failled, he burnt all the oilfields in Kuwait
and if he had nuclear bombs, he wouldn't hesitate to
use them on any country.

Answer 5

I don't think it was ALL about oil. Big American companies have raked in billions of dollars through government-awarded contracts in Iraq, Dubya got to prove to his daddy that he is, too, all grown up, and the ongoing Christian vs Muslim holy war got a fresh chapter written. Still being written. But oil was a big part of the equation, without a doubt. And our economy may very well tank because of this war, for more reasons than just our now colossal national budget deficit. But, I wouldn't bet against us just yet. Our politicians may not get it, but I think average Americans understand full well that we need to get away from our oil dependence. We'll make it happen.

Answer 6

Everybody with a bit of cop-on has known from the beginning that it was about nothing but control of the oil.
Saudi Arabia is ruled by a ruthless dictatorship, but they are at the same time obedient poodles of the US, so no action is necessary there.
This war has totally ruined a country and plunged it into civil war, from which only the mullahs on all sides will profit, apart from the US- American oil companies and Haliburton, of course.

In the meantime the US as a nation has the most enormous national debt, which will only grow as long as this war lasts.
And it will affect the county for the worse, even if that's not yet visible.

Answer 7

Kate Ive read this also,its half true .But this war isn't about now.look at the big picture,in the future a lot of the oil will
run out.This war is about peak oil,who controls the last
of the oil .it was Saddam who changed from dollars to
euros and he actually lost money initially.He did this to
hurt the USA and it worked.(THAT IS A FACT) if you
search on the Internet the proof is available for all to
see.The perfect conspiracy theory can never be proved.
so to all doubters,have a search for this info and see.

Answer 8

I absolutely believe that was one of the reasons for the war. But I think if it had been SOLELY about oil, Bush would have just sat down with Saddam Hussein and said "Look, we will allow you to continue running Iraq as you please, but in return you must sell us your oil slightly below the world market value". It would have been far more logical if it were the only factor. I think it will be decades before we find out the truth of the White houses' motives.

Answer 9

No. the assumption of spreading democracy via tension is absurd. in case you seem on the beginning of democracy contained in the west, contained in the time of the French revolution and the american revolution, you would be conscious that democracy comes from interior of, that's to assert from a will of the folk to control themselves and to overthrow a ruling elite. that's extremely diverse from having a foreign places capability topple this ruling elite and now proclaiming you loose from the exterior. no longer less than, that's a colonialist physique of recommendations. And it lacks an important element with the intention to make it a democratic revolution in that it did no longer upward push up out of the prefer of the folk. as a result, insurgents are completely justified in treating the american militia as an invading tension. Secondly, if it is so, this capacity that the Bush administration misrepresented its motives for going into this conflict. how are you able to've a democracy in accordance with lies? Democracy demands that individuals make counseled judgements approximately their destiny. how are you able to probable think of which you would be able to in a roundabout way trick human beings into transforming into democratic? that could betray the very concepts you attempt to instill. Giving this administration the severe earnings of the doubt, you will possibly desire to no longer less than end that they have got been thoroughly incompetent and defective of their efforts.

Answer 10

How about this as an alternative? The power in America at the time was very concerned about home security following the potential for a repeat of 9/11 and calculated that 20 US soldiers killed a week would be 'cheaper' than a 'plane crash with a suicide bomber killing 200 civilians every week. So they looked around for an enemy whom they could depose, create a power vacuum so it would draw Al-queda in and have a 'war' on foreign soil instead of a terrorist threat on the streets at home.