The lust for war that led to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 has never been satisfactorily explained. The blatant lies about WMDs and Saddam’s links to Al-Qa’eda were soon discredited.
Certainly the neo-Cons led by Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz had an agenda to protect Israel from Iraq’s growing regional power (and his long barrelled gun)- but is the Jewish lobby that powerful that the US would enter a full scale war on their behalf? And regime change was the feeblest excuse thought up as a knee jerk reaction to the scorn heaped on Bush & Blair (aka Laurel & Hardy: “Another fine mess you got me in Ollie”)
From my perspective as a long time Middle East oilman it’s all about oil.
When the US troops invaded Baghdad they immediately threw a cordon around the Oil Ministry – but totally failed to protect the Ministry of Antiquities. Presumably while thieves looted the museums of their priceless treasures the US authorities looted all the seismic data about Iraq’s oil reserves? Recent events are proving that the US was right about Iraq’s importance to the international oil market.
Iraq has now replaced Iran as OPEC’s second largest oil exporter and is earning oil revenues of some $200 Billion per year predicted to double to $400 Billion by 2020.
Will this fabulous oil wealth help relieve the violence and corruption that engulfs Iraq at the moment, or only deepen the divide between Sunni and Shia, Kurds and other minorities?
When I published my book THE GULF 3 years ago it was prescient.
The pitch on the back cover says:
“It’s all about oil. If there was no oil the only foreigners in the Middle East would be a few biblical scholars and archaeologists, being driven mad by the heat, the flies and the dust – and thieving Bedouins who can steal the wheels off of a truck while it is still in motion.”
My book is a series of stories spanning 40 years highlighting the archetypical characters who wash up in The Arabian/Persian Gulf trying to survive in a rapidly changing world. They are people drawn to a highly paid and dangerous life-on-the-edge where men are men and women are no better than they ought to be.
You can preview my book THE GULF “Reaping the Whirlwind” at:
http://www.amazon.com/author/mikerichards
and download it if you have a Kindle. Or if you prefer a real book you can order the edition from:
http://www.thebookdepository.co.uk
The ISBN number is 978-1908147097
They offer free delivery worldwide.
I hope you enjoy it.
thegulfdotcom 