What does it mean when people say "We're in Iraq for the oil"? What, like we're stealing it-not paying for it?

Question

Last time I checked the Evil Oil Companies write checks when they load up a tanker. Am I missing something or is this "We're in Iraq for the oil." the nonsense I think it is; why do folks over the age of 21 buy this idiocy (I realize the kids not only have no clue what's going on but that their so-called "educators" don't really expect them to)?

Answer 1

It is the nonsense you think it is.

People who say we are in Iraq for the oil stop talking immediately when asked, "If oil is the objective, why did we not just keep Kuwait after we drove the Iraqis out?"

Answer 2

some may actually not mean "for the oil" exactly... but due to the oil...

as in if you wage war in an area that has a product, the war will most likely destabilize the area, thus the supply of the product, thus the price of the product will rise, due to concerns over the product's supply...

and when prices rise... people can easily make billions of dollars...

and where do you check on if the oil companies "write checks when they load up a tanker"... I am unaware of anywhere that you can view this transaction... or are you just assuming that's how the process works... or did you used to work on a tanker or at an oil company and maybe you saw it all the time?

and we left Kuwait because the American people would never allow the government to keep it... it wasn't a "choice" that could have been made...

I dare anyone to find a check from a publicly traded company about oil sales... certain things are out there... but not those things... it's not like open government, it's MUCH different... if you know someone, you MAY be able to get it...hahaha... just walk into EXXON and go "can I view your oil checks please"... see how that works out for you...

and they invaded to RAISE prices to make MORE money... it's simple economics... or maybe I'm the only one that's seen the earning reports for oil compaines?

Answer 3

To the guy who thinks we are getting some massive break on oil:

We, Americans, don't have government taking care of our every need. Though we do support too many on government programs. Still, Americans pay less at the pump than other countries because our government does not tax us so heavily. If we get some break on oil from these countries - don't know that we do - it might be because we put our money and expertise into developing their oil fields. Probably our worse mistake, but that happened way back.

Answer 4

1. President Bush recently stated that we could not afford to allow
a nation with Iraq's oil resources to be ruled by a theocracy.

2. Oil prices rose hugely and oil company profits reached record levels since the Iraq war began.

Answer 5

SERIOUSLY
What the people who say that mean...is that we went there to prevent destabilization of the middle east.
A destabilized mid-east is a destabilized world economy. [DUE TO WORLD
OIL DEPENDENCY and oil richness in the mid-east]. For or against current policies, most every civilized nation wants stability there and a stable economy -- most believe Israel can handle almost any military threat, but I'm just trying to keep this answer on one item NOT on peripheral subjects like Suddam, Ben Laden, or etc. The statement is made whenever we "intervene" [even politically] as the feeling in general [until terrorism started] was that no one gave a darn except that the oil was there.
The land was strategic and mass battles were fought in North Africa during WWII as Hitler tried to secure the region for his own strategic national reserves to provide fuel for his armies of world conquest and deny the
resources to free world powers.

Answer 6

We don't buy oil from Iraq. I agree with you. Too many people just don't have a clue. I'm learning to use it to my advantage. Although it is frustrating to deal with ignorami. I change the subject or walk away. You got a lot of good answers. So there are some rational intelligent people out there. Hang with them instead of the dopes.

Answer 7

It is always either people reaching for a way to criticize President Bush or people who are too uneducated to understand the oil market. If we had invaded for oil, we would take over the oil fields instead of protecting them. If we invaded for oil to lower our prices, they would not have doubled since war. If we invaded for oil, our oil refiners would not be paying more per barrel. These prices (the written checks) can be checked since they are publically traded companies. I agree the youth of America is being spoon feed a liberal "truth" that is not backed by simple ecomonics. I am glad someone understands the truth instead of making it up as they go.

Answer 8

first of all, the middle east holds huge amounts of oil reserves and supplies a lot of it to the US and China. the middle east is, obviously, arab and they want their concerns to be heard regarding the iraeli-arab conflict. they have a huge card in their hand by having so much oil. if they do cut off all oil supplies to western nations we are pretty much screwed and the US' economy would virtually be put to a halt. the US by invading Iraq secures their oil supply so the rest of the middle east cant do as much damage to the US economy if they do cut off the oil supply. the US isnt necessarily taking oil for free, but they are securing their oil supply. the US sets up a government that is sympathetic to them so obviously they wont cut off the supply. another reason is because of China. China is the worlds fastest growing country and requires huge amounts of oil. No doubt, eventually China is going to dethrone the US as the world's superpower. The middle east supplies large amounts of oil to China too and if the US is able to control the amount of oil being shipped to China, they will, indirectly, be able to control the speed of that nation's growth and possibly China wouldnt dethrone the US as quick. well thats just all my analysis and me talking...

Answer 9

You might want to check more thoroughly.

There is a problem in that when the wells and loading docks were rebuilt, they were rebuilt without meters, so there is no way to tell what is happening, or who, what, or how, beyond of course that it was a Halliburton contract.

From the location cited
"By most accounts, Iraqis feel that corruption has been transferred from Mr. Hussein's elites to another set of unaccountable oligarchs. Example: Meters still have not been installed on oil wells, so no one knows how much oil is being stolen. "

This was just the easiest reference to find quickly.

There have been many such references, and many complaints from Iraqi politicians, but nothing is being done.

Answer 10

It's a well-known fact that Iraq is one of the richest oil-filled lands in the world. There is a whole conspiracy theory that the reason why we invaded Iraq and ended up catching Saddam Hussein, (when the original objective was to get Osama bin Laden, was it not?) is because we want better relations with them to get cheaper oil.

Obviously, gas prices have sky-rocketed since we've been there.

So basically, it means that we're in Iraq to get better oil deals, not to fight off terrorism.

Fighting off terrorism is the facade that the Bush administration gave us to accept the fact that we went in there for something that, to the general masses, wouldn't seem so important.

I'd like to think that the president has access to information that we are not privileged to, so I can accept the fact that he may have to lie to us on some things for the better good.

So who knows? I honestly don't even know what to think anymore...