[SOC] Fwd: It is very Strange, isn't it?

[Paul Bartlett]

> >Subject: IT'S THE OIL,STUPID

Of course it's about oil.

If the middle east only had sand then the Western nations wouldn't give a
flying f**k about what the Arabs do to eachother.

Who cares what happens in Chad or Ethiopia or the Sudan? Same sort of
climate (much like California but a good deal less money but little or no
oil).

If we wish, however, to maintain our comfy lifestyles, then it's in our own
self-interest to make sure that the regimes in the middle east that supply
us with the lifeblood that powers our economies are sympathetic to us.

Cynical perhaps but true nonetheless.

Saddam Hussain is, however, such a venal character that you don't really
need the oil argument to justify the cost of removing the odious bastard. It
helps to balance the books however.

This is not really about principle. More about pragmatism.

>From my own point of view, I think that the military removal of Saddam's
regime would (will?) probably improve the prospects for the region. It's a
terrible risk though.

Paul