Is this a War About Oil?

Friday September 20, 2002 08:09

by Anti-Bush

Role of Multinationals

many times it is heard that the war against terror is one about oil and Bush's connections to the oil industry are cited alongside prominent members of his government. But who rulest America? It isn't simply the oil industry but other industries which are just as important. Governments are nothing more that the representatives of the bourgeois order and as such are middle men of minor rank.

Was the war Hitler unleashed simply about the Soviet Unions natural resources, could we say it was a war for oil? No. Judged by past history this war is a war about the multinationals dominating the planet. Freeing up any protectionist trade barriers that get in their way, like the CAP in Europe and showing to the world who is trulymaster of the the Universe.

The Arab world not having been united is fragmented into a series of statelets and as such is now representing the main threat to the US imposition of its new world order. Since the defeat of Vietnam America sufferred another humiliating defeat in Iran. If the war was simply about oil and that is only a small component, American oil reserves would be depleted and the price would have skyrocketed. Instead we have a glut on the world oil markets like we have a glut in almost every other capitalist product from coffee to sugar. We are experiencing a crisis of overproduction and underconsumptions and the worlds second largest economy, Japan is in freefall.

For the large multinational corporations to surpass this crisis it is necessary for them to gain direct control of the planet, its resources and to get rid of the middle men whether they are Arab nationalists or European politicians. Part and parcel of this process is the creation of a single currency in Europe. SO as to carry out the task US imperialism has to take control of the sea water and the air. Problems abound in the Horn of Africa after the SOmalia debacle, in Latin America in particular Columbia, in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular South Africa and in Asia from Indonesia through to Afghanistan.

The periphery of the American Empire is imploding at a pace faster than they can put out the fires already started. In this race against time, the USA will try to pretend it is winning the war against terror only so as to convince itself and its multinationals that is all is well and the crisis isn't systemic but manageable.

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Comments (2 of 2)

zqa

by what makesyou think that?

Fri Sep 20, 2002 13:54

Just because bush is controlled by big oil like dick, and this convenient "terrorist attack" on wtc happened weeks after their pipe line deal with the talaban fell thru, or maybe because Iraq is the second biggest oil holder your just imagining things go watch TV and get you proper programming to put those nasty ideas out of your head

Oil glut? -Not quite

by Terry

Fri Sep 20, 2002 14:33

The first posting states:
'If the war was simply about oil and that is only a small component, American oil reserves would be
depleted and the price would have skyrocketed. Instead we have a glut on the world oil markets ...'

Well in fact oil production in the USA peaked back in 1973 and has been going down since. Even if and
when they take the remaining oil from Alaska, it will not significantly change the downward drop and at
most only delays things effectively by a few months.

The percentage share of Middle East oil used in the US has been rising for the last few years and is projected
to reach around the 50% mark. There is nothing they can do about this because, oil production has peaked and
is peaking in most other places (North Sea, Russia) and the Middle East by far holds the biggest remaining
reserves, with Saudi Arabia first place and Iraq second!

The problem with oil is not when we run out, it is just when it gets expensive. And this will happen about
5 - 10 years after the peak of the world oil production which is simply the sum of production in all countries
put together. The 'data' shows that the peak of discovering oil occurred back in the late 60's and the
quantity of oil found has been falling since then, despite new technology. Because of the timelag between finding
an oil field and extracting the oil, which for big fields can take years to do too, that is why there is a lag
between discovery peak and production peak.

So to return to the comment above, -yes this war is definitely about oil and about who will have control of it,
once the price goes up and everyone is desperate to get their hands on it. The US needs to make sure that it
always has secure 'access' and that they are not held to ransom by some 'rogue' regime.
The fact that Iraq has the 2nd biggest reserves says it all. And as for Saudi, it is plain obvious the US will
take military control of the oil fields there, should the regime fall.

Lots of info about oil production, reserves, discovery with facts and figures at related link

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Is this a War About Oil?

Comments (2 of 2)