Why do people think Iraq is about the oil itself? The way that oil is sold is the important thing.?

Question

So many talk about the war not being about oil because oil has not become cheaper. What most people seem to miss is that the war is about how that oil is sold - in dollars.

Saddam began trading his oil in Euros in 2000 and this was bad news for the US: The US economy is totally dependent on oil being sold in dollars. They left the gold standard for the oil standard in the 1970s. When oil is sold in dollars then other countries have to trade with the US to get dollars to buy oil. As the US prints dollars for next to nothing and uses these dollars to buy goods then they are essentially getting something for nothing.

When oil is traded in Euros (as Saddam did, iran are doing since 2006 and Chavez wants to do) then demand for the dollar decreases. When the demand for the dollar decreases so too does the value. The US dollar is already very weak and there more dollars outside the US than inside. All these dollars will be sold to buy Euros.

When this happens the dollar value falls even more and the country will spiral into a recession greater than the 1930s. The trade situation will deepen the crisis. less countries will want to import goods to the US but will choose Europe so that they can get Euros to buy oil.

The war in Iraq was essentially about ensuring that oil was not sold in Euros and ensuring that the government that replaced Saddam would ensure that Iraq and OPEC continued to use the dollar for trading and thus maintain the dollar as the worlds reserve currency.

If every dollar outside the US was cashed in (and there are more dollars outside the US than inside) then the US would go under.

So now we know why the next target is Iran - remeber most experts state that Iran are 10 - 20 years from a Nuke. They have 3000 centrifuges to refine uranium and need 100 times that number.

And after Iran then we can expect Venezuela and Chavez to be attacked.

It is hard for Americans to accept their weak economy.

Bill Clinton
George Bush Senior
Condi Rice
Cheneny
Rumsfeld

They all argued pre 2000 that Saddam was contained and that sanction would remove him. Something changed post 2000 - the way that oil was traded. Suddenly the invasion of a sovereign nation was pushed up the agenda.

Answer 1

You are completely correct.
Oil is the largest commody traded in the international market. As the US trade deficits widens, fewer dollars are needed by foreign countries to buy US goods.
Petrodollars, as the money used in oil trade is called, is what has supported the value of the dollar on the currency market. The EU sorely wants the international trade of oil in Euros. That would drive the value of the Euro way up and make many in the EU wealthy.
As someone else pointed out, no nation that has converted to the Euro is supporting the US in the Middle-East. Only the UK, whose pound sterling is closely tied to the dollar, is strongly allied with the US.

Answer 2

Hi, I'm American, and you're right our economy is weak. Despite the supposed high employment rate we are experiencing, the overall economy is weak. The war is making it worse. It's not that Americans can't accept that we have a weak economy, it's that we aren't given the information. Our news media is corporate and doesn't tell us anything. You're right, one of the main reasons for invading Iraq was that Saddam was going to trade in euro dollars instead of U.S dollars. The interesting thing about all this is that other m.e countries are starting to do the same thing. Our dollar is sinking and if this trend keeps going, it is going to sink faster than lead boots in the Potomac River. In the meantime, China is gaining influence in Latin America and South East Asia. Bush is setting us back about 40 years. Hopefully, the American people are finally waking up.

Answer 3

Bill Clinton and Congress made it official US policy to remove Saddam by force and install a new government in Iraq in 1998 with the Iraq Liberation Act. Clinton bombed Iraq for days but failed to get the job done. Saddam's actions regarding the Euro came later.

However, it is fair to say the Iraq war is about oil. When Saddam sent his tanks into Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, he made it clear he planned to take over the Middle East oil supplies and then be able to blackmail anyone he wanted.

You need oil to survive just like you need drinking water. Our government has a duty to defend our allies and trading partners who provide this nation with the very substance of life.

Answer 4

This is well pointed out by you, and unfortunately confirms the propaganda used by the White House in the lead up to war against Iraq. What gets me is that Osama Bin Laden has never been found and so America's response to 9/11 has never been satisfied. Instead more that 3000 Americans have given their lives on a different agenda in Iraq. It's shameful.

Answer 5

Don't let people here get you down.

You are right on the money.

Ruth you are completely wrong. Saddam had already begun
selling his oil for Euros. We had to make damn sure that other
opec countries didn't get the idea that they could sell oil for anything other then dollars.

We invaded Iraq to control the oil.
Ask yourself if we are planning on leaving why we are building so many military bases in Iraq? Yes indeed it is about oil all the way.

Answer 6

The war in Iraq is not just about oil, Euros and revenue. It's about Muslim terrorists who are keeping democracy from becoming a reality.

Take some time and watch this video. It is an interview with 3 former, now tolerant terrorist who have turned against that way of thinking. This interview was part of the AM Morning program on CN8 in New Jersey. It tells it like it is and will surprise you as to where al Queada is breeding terrorists and where their money is coming from.

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=LK07B70&f=PW07B04&t=e

Answer 7

I know you're right on this. It was always about oil. I hadn't heard the Euros argument, but it makes sense. We are truly in trouble financially in the US and it always goes back to oil. Dollars are increasingly negative to the Euro. The US has never been closer to financial collapse.

Answer 8

Nope. Not buying. The war is not about oil. We did not invade Iraq because Saddam was getting ready to go to Euros. Or whatever new twist you wish to add to that fiction.

This is not a matter of not understanding, it is a matter of not being compelled by a huge lie.

If true (that Saddam was getting ready to go to Euros), however, it might explain the less than stellar support the US is getting from the EU. I think it is the EU which is struggling economically, not the US.

Answer 9

Because Americans are too busy playing war games on PS2 to take an economics class. Saddam outsmarted us in this respect, and our "free market and fair trade capitalist nation" toppled his entire nation in return. God bless America? We are all going to hell man.........

Answer 10

Just to get away from the seriousness -

Bush wants do divide Iraq into three territories -

Regular; Premium and Diesoline

LOL!!!

Good question/statement ...