War for Oil!

Oh this war for oil! Well, I'm sure you'd be aware of it if you ever have bothered venturing into the plethora of available information on Bush Senior and Junior, Condoleezza Rice, Dick Cheney, and many others. Yes, that's what I am hinting at: their interest in oil, and the war that is used as leverage to achieve control over it. And if you haven't a clue about where I am heading, search up these names and "oil" as a mandatory search key. You'll be hit back with a tsunami of enlightening information.

As much as the media portrays the American-led war as a 'War on Terror', there is no doubt about the not-so-clandestine nature of dealings surrounding it. However, many till today struggle to digest the fact that this war benefits a handful of voracious businessmen rather than those poor people in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, those who have managed to fathom the surrounding dealings that lie as a background to this war will have made sense of it. Can war make sense? oh yes, it can, particularly because it is a fact that fighting a war always tends to benefit the aggressor's economy. Afterall, the army is an industry in itself with many associated ones working closely with it. Defense expenditures rise, and every mechanism kicks into play, setting its own economy in motion. There are billions of Dollars being generated in military deals, some of which are even extended to countries outside the warring aggressor's domain. However, let me not lose my focus here, which is the War for Oil. Oops! Sorry, I meant, War on Terror.

True, maybe I am just rambling on about what I believe or what a few other writers have put out there. However, it is worth looking back at what has been before we accept or validate George W. Bush as our crusader against the 'Axis of Evil'. And 'crusader' is none but a cynical title for him, as he is hardly a follower of any monotheist faith. Ironically, his War on Terror began as what he described as a 'crusade' against evil. While many felt his war was justified, it sickened the rest of us powerless spectators. Justified or not, there were many unanswered questions that remained.

Since the day I received an email about the War on Terror, entitled 'It's the Oil Stupid', I began to question the legitimacy of the Bush clan. I began to wonder how it could all be possible; did the Al Qaeda really orchestrate and execute the 9/11 terrorist attacks and did they really catch everyone by surprise? or did the CIA let it happen so they'd have an excuse to enter Afghanistan? could the U.S. have caused mass deception so easily? Why Afghanistan? Why Iraq? and why did Iraq not have any weapons of mass destruction once it was invaded? did all those weapons evaporate overnight? were any of these weapons really there to begin with? or maybe it was the chemical or biological weapons Bush was talking about. Yes, I am talking about the same chemical weapons that the U.S. provided Saddam to fight the Iranians. The U.S. has always done things like this; they side with you when it suits their purposes, and then, when their work is done they will exploit you. Afterall, countries like Iraq and Pakistan are just 'client states', judged not by their values or the respect they have earned, but by their obedience to the west. Now, why on earth did I mention Pakistan alongside Iraq? Is there any similarity between the two?

Just like Iraq was used as leverage against Iran, Pakistan has been used to operate against the Russian-occupied Afghanistan via the Taliban. The U.S. [C.I.A.] funded and directed the Taliban and the eventual Al-Qaeda through the Pakistan [I.S.I]. Oh yes, you had better get some research done if you don't believe it. The very recent Lal Masjid incident was a manifestation of the clandestine activities went on there; fighters were indoctrinated and trained there. Do you suppose our ex-Prime Ministers [Benazir and Nawaz Sharif] had no idea about this? Also, let us not forget that it was the U.S. that welcomed the Taliban's success at driving the Russians out of Afghanistan. We all hailed them as 'Mujahideen' [Freedom Fighters].

Anyway, once the Taliban gained control, things seemed warm between them and the U.S, particularly because both countries had an interest in the oil business. Both stood to gain from the abundant oil reserves in the region. By the time George W. Bush became president, Taliban officials had even visited the U.S. [Do check out Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11]. According to this documentary and a host of other sources, there were plans to tap into oil reserves that Bush could not get his hands on alone. Afghanistan [the Taliban] was supposed to be part of this. However, something went horribly wrong, and the hiatus led to something quite unexpected for most of us. What caused the Taliban-American relations to strain, and so quickly too? Were the Americans being to greedy in their pipeline deal? Did they ask for too large a percentage? Or did the U.S. simply change their minds about their planned pipeline through Afghanistan and decide to kill two birds with one stone [Afghanistan and Iraq]. But how?

Terrorism was a conveniently growing threat, given that Usama Bin Laden [incidentally, a man with American combat training] began to make Americans his prime targets through the latter 1990s. This terrorist threat was the perfect leverage that could be used against Afghanistan, and subsequently against the then potentially dangerous Iraq. The 9/11 terrorist attacks was the beginning of the showdown. Before we knew it, the argot of Bush, quickly transformed into vernacular phrases that echoed every facet of the media: Al Qaeda, axis of evil, perpetrators, Taliban, Usama Bin Laden, etc. were words on almost every tongue.

While getting into Afghanistan was easily achieved owing to Usama Bin Laden and his minions hiding there, it would have been a difficult task to gain consensual approval for invading Iraq. However, nearly all members of U.N. Security Council members voted in favor of invading Iraq. Why? Well, it's simple: 'It's the Oil, Stupid!' However, not all of them would benefit from the oil reserves. They apparently were coerced, but had to say it was their own choice to support the war for the sake of their international image. And of course, Uncle Sam threatened these weaklings with dire consequences should they act any differently.

Though consensus was more easily achieved through coercing weaker states, there were others like the UN Security members that had to put their weight behind a consensus. Countries like France and even Russia had already signed agreements with Saddam's administration. These agreements and the subsequent investments were supposed to set up the oil industry in Iraq. Now, if any of these countries didn't want their agreements scrapped under the new Iraq administration, they would have to abide by what the U.S. intended to do. And so, a consensus was not too difficult to achieve. Most of them submitted to the U.S. calumniation against Iraq, and went ahead with the invasion. For the rest of the world, it did not matter what anyone thought about war. Perhaps most of us were all too convinced or perplexed by what the White House propagated through the media. Such chicanery and wile tactics have probably never been attempted with this magnitude before, and many are still stunned at the audacity and impunity of such a plot.

Well, I shall end my message here. I will write some more about the 'war for oil' later when another mail prompts me to do so.

Good day to you!

P.S.
I have not bothered going into every detail extensively because I'd end up having to provided you anecdotes, citations and references. There is plenty of material available on these issues that might be more insightful. So go ahead if you like :)