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Oil, Snake Oil, and the Axis of Ignorance and Arrogance

By Horace Coleman

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain on stage!"
—paraphrase from The Wizard of Oz

The cause of Gulf War I was obvious: control of and access to oil. Hussein invaded Kuwait, claiming Kuwait was slant-drilling Iraqi oil fields. And he claimed that Kuwait belonged to Iraq.

From the CIA World Factbook 2005:

Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of military strongmen ruled the country, the latest was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait, but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January–February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years resulted in the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. Coalition forces remain in Iraq, helping to restore degraded infrastructure and facilitating the establishment of a freely elected government, while simultaneously dealing with a robust insurgency.

That's their story and they're stickin' to it.

Gulf War I was a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am romp, although Patriot missiles didn't work too well, rumblings were raised about depleted uranium, and we exposed ourselves to Hussein's stockpile of ??? by blowing it up. No one knows exactly what caused Gulf War Syndrome; maybe it was the experimental vaccines our troops were required to take. But we felt good and bought SUVs.

As head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell advised against toppling Hussein—that would upset the neighborhood. Before Gulf War II, Secretary of State Powell presented the weak case for attacking Iraq and removing Hussein.

War-loving neocolonialists (who somehow missed out on military service) wanted to "democratize" the Middle East. Dubya used post-9/11 fear and bloodlust to divert attention from his lackluster presidency and start a war that would eclipse Daddy's.

On September 9, 2005, Colin Powell said on ABC's 20/20 that there was no link between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 terrorist attack. "I have never seen a connection. ...I can't think otherwise, because I'd never seen evidence to suggest there was one."

Secretary of State Powell told the UN that Hussein had WMDs and posed an imminent threat. Barbara Walters asked whether that dog-and-pony show would tarnish his reputation. "Of course it will," Powell said. "It's a blot. I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world, and [it] will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now."

What does a career soldier know about honor, realpolitik, and necessity, though? Powell's fatal flaw (to right-wing Republicans) is thinking that reality is more important than ideology.

People used to say that Democrats start wars and raise taxes. Republicans start useless wars and don't fund them, expand bureaucracy, and spend more than Democrats while slashing or eliminating useful programs. But wait, there's more! They cut taxes and redistribute wealth...from those who have less to those who never can get enough. They ignore supposedly outdated concepts like "the common good" and "the long term."

Gulf War II has diverted us from Afghanistan, leaving warlords in place and increasing opium's importance as a cash crop there. Our military's stretched so thin that National Guard troops had to be redeployed from overseas after Hurricane Katrina struck. Troops are so poorly trained that the interrogation and detention of actual and suspected "illegal combatants" is torturing our law, principles, language, and detainees.

Bloated Homeland Security and the dollars we've wasted have made us less able to deal with natural disasters. We probably wouldn't do any better at dealing with a "terrist" attack. No-bid contracts will be awarded to the same cronies. The same contractors will race to the trough, with the same lack of supervision, overruns, and inept results.

Does anyone in power know how to play this game? Patriotism is now more attitude than action. People "support our troops" by not becoming them, putting stickers on their vehicles, and going shopping. They get more upset over base closings (local jobs lost) than VA hospital closings (veterans' bodies and minds being tended to). Batter up!