War and Oil

2003-4-9 05:20:00

Geoffrey writes:
The reason for this war is to make Bush and his colleagues very rich and for America to control the oil in Iraq.

JJ:
For one thing, Bush stands to make nothing for personal gain from the Iraqi oil that I know of.

If the United States were in this just for the oil we could have taken Iraq's oil in the first Gulf War. Since we are a powerful nation we could have taken Kuwait's oil also any time we wanted.

Our past actions alone belie this accusation.

The oil accusation has been made about every war the U.S. has fought in my lifetime. They said this about Vietnam, the first Gulf War, Afghanistan and now the current war. At least there is some reason for suspicion with Iraq because of its high oil reserves.

It's good to be suspicious but I see no evidence of this common accusation, nor have I seen anything to back it up, save guilt by association.

Let us examine this from the plane of the mind.

It is costing the United States $70 billion in additional funds, plus the funds already at hand to just get started in Iraq. This alone amounts to probably about $120 billion. I'm not sure of British expenditure, but they would be at least $25 billion. But the expenses will not end there. Spending twice this amount before things are stabilized is a conservative estimate.

In addition, to repair and expand oil production in Iraq would cost as much as $30 billion. This (most probably) would not come from the government but from business investment.

So let us add this up. $120 billion + 25 billion times two equals $290 billion plus 30 billion = $325 billion.

Let us suppose there are greedy SOB's in this for the oil. How long will it take to make the $325 billion investment back?

Recently Iraq has been exporting around $7 billion worth of oil plus whatever Saddam Hussein has been able to sell on the black market. The oil equipment is in dire need of repair, but after many billions are invested Iraq should be able to produce around $20 billion a year. Of course, even this is not all profit. Production expenses must be subtracted from this amount.

Let us take a high projection and say that the profit would be $15 billion a year. If the United States and Britain were to grab all that money for themselves, and the investors, it would take 21 years (plus several years to get the oil field in shape) to get the investment back, not counting interest involved.

This by itself is not much of an incentive to make such an expenditure, especially when the war was risky and could have been a disaster.

It is also something impossible to accomplish. If we were to confiscate all the oil profits from Iraq this would cause tremendous suffering for the Iraqi people and would cause a world hatred and disgust that would make the current dislike of the U.S. seem very mild.

On the other hand, Colin Powel has already stated that the profits will be put in a trust fund to help the Iraqi people.

There is another important consideration. After 911 Bush's approval ratings were around 90% and stayed high until he began talking about a war with Iraq. His enemies pounced on him and his approval ratings sank dramatically. Many political opponents sided with the peace protesters thinking that a war posed extreme political risk and any screw up would be disastrous for Bush.

It was indeed a risky move if Bush were going to war for political reasons for it could doom his political career forever. Even some of his strongest opponents concluded that he must be sincere in this endeavor for they figured that only a fool would go to war for political benefit.

Whatever you think of G W Bush, a war with Iraq for either the oil or for a political bonus does not make sense. After all, look what happened to Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam War.

Geoffrey:
The excuse for the war is freedom for the Iraqis.

JJ:
This is not the stated reason. It is a stated side benefit. The main reason put forward for the war is to prevent another 911.

If we look at finances here, the last 911 cost over two trillion dollars, all things considered (that's two thousand billion). A future one could be worse and lead to the demise of civilization.

Geoffrey:
Many people are against the war only because it is America waging it and not the UN. America is sure to siphon profits from Iraq in the years to come whereas the UN would not.

JJ:
America (and do not forget Britain and Australia) will undoubtedly receive some financial benefit, but it is doubtful they will ever get the money back that is being spent on the war.

Geoffrey:
All the protesters that I have heard are for freeing the people but not the way it is being done.

JJ:
The only plan I have heard from them for freeing the people is to sit back and wait for them to overthrow Saddam Hussein. In the meantime millions will suffer horrors worse than death.

Currently, the war has been basically won and it is only a matter now of a short time that the human suffering of millions of Iraqis will come to an end. If the peace protesters had their way all these people may yet have decades or a lifetime of suffering to endure.

I, for one, support the path that leads to the end of such suffering, even though some sacrifice is required. I definitely support doing what is necessary to prevent another 911, with or without U.N. approval.

Let me end on this note. It is a common thing to look at politicians with whom we disagree and see within their soul very sinister motives, greed, abuse etc.

Unfortunately, such conclusions are often arrived at because of strong feelings that distort the real truth. The disciple needs to look at every person in a position of power, not through preconceived notions, but through the eyes of the soul.

I have done this with Bush and I am sure of what I have received.

He is not fighting this war for the motive of oil or political gain. He is sincere in his desire to prevent another catastrophe like 911. He sincerely seeks guidance through the soul and has received an impression from the Christ himself to initiate this war with Iraq, even if it costs him his second term. This is why he has stood so firm against most of the world and many within his own country.

Unless we make some great mistakes in the near future, this war will be seen as a turning point in history and for the disciples of the world it will be seen as a partial closing of "the door where evil dwells" and an opening of the door to the externalization of the Hierarchy.