Iraq War: A fight for control over oil fields?

When I have a free moment, I’m going to jump in and debunk all these half-baked assumptions you're making based purely on Hollywood movies...
for starters...don't go throwing big oil companies in the same bucket as the US government...come on, guys.

Nicole Barrett76 said:I find myself in complete agreement with that sentiment.

Saddam Hussein didn't sell oil for US Dollars; he operated on an oil-for-food basis. Iraq was under United Nations sanctions. Meanwhile, Iran sells its oil in US Dollars and Yen. Do some actual research before talking nonsense.

Sean Hernandez13 said:When I have a free moment, I’m going to jump in and debunk all these half-baked assumptions you're making based purely on Hollywood movies...
for starters...don't go throwing big oil companies in the same bucket as the US government...come on, guys.

Please enlighten us as soon as possible; I'm practically shaking from the anxiety this uncertainty is causing.

rustycrane5 said:The invasion of Iraq was largely driven by the fact that they transitioned away from using the USD for their oil transactions. It seems that even Iran has made similar announcements regarding their intentions...

Nicole Barrett76 As if...
I’m of exactly the same mind on this... honestly...

Between those two trollosauruses, the only thing with any actual credibility is their usernames... You think you're some kind of big-shot developer? Please...
Iraq was already under heavy sanctions long before we actually took down Saddam Hussein, and... The absolute bare minimum... those tiny, regulated transactions that fly under the radar... it’s all part of the system, isn't it? Just small enough to stay within the lines, tightly controlled by the regulators, keeping everything just "legal" while they watch your every move... It makes you wonder where the line actually sits... if it even exists anymore... Food... just food... always about the food... it's all we think about, isn't it? Everything leads back to what's on the plate... the endless cycle of hunger and consumption... it never stops... The exact same thing was happening right here in the States back then... just like it's happening now... and honestly, it's going to keep happening in the future too... it's a cycle... always the same...

Iran is out there playing around with test balloons... while Uncle Sam is stuck trying to balance the Eurozone's value between the legacy left by Tony Blair and the influence of Angela Merkel... it’s just one thing after another... constant instability... 🙂

Europe absolutely cannot afford to let Uncle Sam just walk away and leave them to struggle against that rogue Vladimir Putin and his band of drunkards... because, honestly, if they lose their footing now, it’s going to wreck the long-term structural demand for the entire American economy... it's just bad business... simple as that...

Jonathan Morales79 said:

Nicole Barrett76 As if...
I’m of exactly the same mind on this... honestly...

Between those two trollosauruses, the only thing with any actual credibility is their usernames... You think you're some kind of big-shot developer? Please...
Iraq was already under heavy sanctions long before we actually took down Saddam Hussein, and... The absolute bare minimum... those tiny, regulated transactions that fly under the radar... it’s all part of the system, isn't it? Just small enough to stay within the lines, tightly controlled by the regulators, keeping everything just "legal" while they watch your every move... It makes you wonder where the line actually sits... if it even exists anymore... Food... just food... always about the food... it's all we think about, isn't it? Everything leads back to what's on the plate... the endless cycle of hunger and consumption... it never stops... The exact same thing was happening right here in the States back then... just like it's happening now... and honestly, it's going to keep happening in the future too... it's a cycle... always the same...

Iran is out there playing around with test balloons... while Uncle Sam is stuck trying to balance the Eurozone's value between the legacy left by Tony Blair and the influence of Angela Merkel... it’s just one thing after another... constant instability... 🙂

Europe absolutely cannot afford to let Uncle Sam just walk away and leave them to struggle against that rogue Vladimir Putin and his band of drunkards... because, honestly, if they lose their footing now, it’s going to wreck the long-term structural demand for the entire American economy... it's just bad business... simple as that...

From what I can tell, you’re convinced that democracy and prosperity are basically America's top exports... hm, but the deficit on those specific "products" right here in the States has been a constant for the last 5 or 6 years, and that trend isn't changing anytime soon. Why do you think this world model is better than a balanced one where multiple powers keep each other in check? As for the EU, it'll probably stay clumsy as long as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are running things—they've clearly shown they lack the guts for the job.
Second thing: gas and those "drunk Russians" you mentioned... I don't see how it benefits drunk Russians to mess around with gas supplies when they're already dealing with a massive hit from falling oil prices.🤷 Calling it a desperate move to squeeze out higher prices? I wouldn't call it that.
Regarding Iraq and the oil fields... before the intervention, a French firm and some Russians already had contracts in place. Meanwhile, the UN inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction finished their job and found absolutely NOTHING.
...

When people start thrashing around, they aren't just doing it in small towns—it’s everyone from regular folks across the US to the heavy hitters. It’s like a massive ripple effect; once one person starts kicking up dust, the whole world feels the shake. You know the names being whispered in those high-level circles, but let's just say... some things are better left unsaid.

Dana Clark9 said:So, in your view, should Europe just pull itself together and launch an offensive against Ukraine? Honestly, I don't think that's such a bad idea myself.🙂

Yeah, right! Like the European Union and Russia would just shake hands, cut out the middleman in the gas trade, and pull off some blitzkrieg on Ukraine from two sides. They could just split Ukraine into West and East—kind of like how Germany used to be split—and boom, gas crisis solved. 😁

Maria Booth said:Yeah, right! Like the European Union and Russia would just shake hands, cut out the middleman in the gas trade, and pull off some blitzkrieg on Ukraine from two sides. They could just split Ukraine into West and East—kind of like how Germany used to be split—and boom, gas crisis solved. 😁

The concept doesn't sound half bad, provided we aren't overlooking one massive complication: a significant portion of the Russian Black Sea Fleet remains stationed right within Ukraine. If the Ukrainians were to mobilize that fleet alongside their own, wouldn't both sides find themselves in an incredibly precarious position? One must also never lose sight of the fact that Ukraine is a massive nation, both in its vast geographic scale and its substantial population.

vividrider3 said:Please enlighten us as soon as possible; I'm practically shaking from the anxiety this uncertainty is causing.

Do you watch anything besides Top Gun, Rambo, or those other action movie clichés?

Look, just like the Iraq War wasn't fueled by the actions of some lone American, we can't pin the whole conflict on just one single factor.

Plus, those motivations kept shifting even while the fighting was actually going down.

If you really sit down and count everything—especially when you factor in all the reasons why the American opposition fought back—you’re probably looking at about twenty different major drivers.

I mean, seriously, what kind of idiots on this planet would've thought Americans wouldn't go out and accomplish most of what they set out to do? They've been pushing back and firing right back for years now.

But honestly, who on this entire forum would actually prefer living in Iraq back in '89 over being in West Germany?

restlessstag14 said:Look, just like the Iraq War wasn't fueled by the actions of some lone American, we can't pin the whole conflict on just one single factor.

Plus, those motivations kept shifting even while the fighting was actually going down.

If you really sit down and count everything—especially when you factor in all the reasons why the American opposition fought back—you’re probably looking at about twenty different major drivers.

I mean, seriously, what kind of idiots on this planet would've thought Americans wouldn't go out and accomplish most of what they set out to do? They've been pushing back and firing right back for years now.

But honestly, who on this entire forum would actually prefer living in Iraq back in '89 over being in West Germany?

There was only one real driver: those massive oil reserves sitting right near the surface... everything else was just maneuvering and playing it by ear. You don't lose 100,000 people and then just "pivot" your mission objectives, because—let's be real—the first goal was built on nothing but lies.
It's really just the technical execution of a specific policy...

Sean Hernandez13 said:Do you watch anything besides Top Gun, Rambo, or those other action movie clichés?

Occasionally I'll catch Thelma & Louise or some other tearjerker. Is that really all you have to say? It’s a shame, considering how many big announcements and promises you made; I was actually looking forward to this.

@ get that damn helicopter out of your avatar...
look, you're the textbook definition of a post-communist mindset... everything is just black and white to you—Russians are evil, Americans are saints, and so on. Honestly, I don't even have the energy to argue, but if I had to sum it up in one word, I'd call it single-mindedness or just plain narrow-mindedness. You're stuck in one way of thinking, dug deep into your own little trench, and there's no pulling you out of it. See, I'm not limited like that; at least I try to stay flexible. I trust my gut. I don't hold love or hate for specific groups... and btw, I'm sure I know way more Americans than you do...
the whole point of my thread was about those four or five massive corporations that actually pull the strings in the most powerful nation on Earth. Your take is totally baseless, just a bunch of empty cliches and trench warfare rhetoric... etc. I'm exhausted by people like this, seriously, what a joke.
one of the most influential people in the USA... (take a guess who) man, if they didn't privatize the military too, they'd own the whole thing... so just go jump in a lake, honestly.
I'll find some time later to write a bit about Hugo Chavez... he's a fascinating figure.
using his story, I want to show just how slippery those powerful interest groups on Capitol Hill really are and what they're willing to do... which means they aren't much different from any other imperialist powers out there...
I'm all for a balance of power... definitely not for one side dominating everyone else. We were lucky enough this time that the dominant force was the USA. I can agree with you there—they're better than the alternatives—but the best scenario is NO ONE being in charge.

The biggest reason, I guess!
A son's gotta be better than his old man at something eventually...☕

Maria Booth said:You can totally see how vital controlling oil and gas fields is during this whole gas crisis. Serious nations like the USA aren't gonna let their own economy tank just because of stuff happening in Ukraine or Russia.

Exactly. It's basically "survival of the fittest," if you ask me. You could call Germany or the European Union a "serious" power, but they were structured that way sixty years ago...
Basically, a truly "serious" nation just grabs what it needs when it needs it, while simultaneously fighting for 😂😂 the democratization of an Iraq....😂 😂which is seen as doing good. According to polls, 60% of people actually believe that... which is honestly pretty depressing.
It’s not even about "good" vs "bad." It’s just that a handful of people holding massive power have the ultimate tool: the US Army. During the George W. Bush era, US foreign policy was essentially acting on behalf of a few big oil corporations... so maybe dial back the ideological heat a bit, guys...
Bottom line: untangle those thoughts and make sense of them. Corporations aren't democracy; they're more like a step toward idiocy... just look at the poll results.