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Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

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Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby mmasters » Sun 13 Dec 2015, 20:46:01

Talk about a stupid move on the Bush administration. They could have at least used it to pay for the war.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby Plantagenet » Sun 13 Dec 2015, 21:10:18

mmasters wrote:Talk about a stupid move on the Bush administration. They could have at least used it to pay for the war.


In spite of what Donald Trump says, its a dumb idea to invade other countries and steal their oil.

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Stalin, Hitler and apparently Donald Trump think its OK to invade countries and steal their oil, but its not the way the USA operates.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby jedrider » Sun 13 Dec 2015, 21:24:00

mmasters wrote:Talk about a stupid move on the Bush administration. They could have at least used it to pay for the war.


You mean OCCUPY the country? It was difficult enough blowing it up. Our idea must have been that the proxy government would be subservient to us. Why would that be? Only the gulf states are subservient, because they couldn't last without us.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby ralfy » Sun 13 Dec 2015, 22:03:43

I think they tried, but maintaining operations meant societal stability, and most Iraqis did not support them.

Also, the mistake took place much earlier, when they planned to attack Iraq.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby onlooker » Mon 14 Dec 2015, 03:59:43

We are familiar with the adage "Divide and conquer". Are we not? The Western powers especially the US want chaos in the ME, they do not want any group to attain too much power. They want to play a game of musical chairs and shifting alliances. They know full well that ultimately that oil can be more easily attained via trade than war. They also know all the groups involved want the power and money that come with the oil. The carrot and stick approach is always a viable option. Reward/Punishment.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby Cid_Yama » Mon 14 Dec 2015, 09:01:52

You all act like the US had a choice. The Bush Administration naively believed that the people would welcome us as liberators once we toppled the Bathist government.

Didn't happen. Wasn't going to happen. The Iraqis immediately saw us as invaders after their oil and began blowing up pipelines. And we learned just how impossible it is to protect oil pipelines if someone aims to target them.

Mexico learned the same thing when the US assisted Calderon in stealing the election in exchange for Mexico moving towards privatization of Pemex.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby ralfy » Mon 14 Dec 2015, 14:39:55

Interestingly enough, Bush argued that the war was going to be long and difficult.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby Pops » Mon 14 Dec 2015, 15:12:58

Need I say it? The US government isn't in the oil business, it is in the corporate colonialism business.

Inasmuch as the US liberated Iraq (oil) and freed it (oil) from national control then handed it (oil) over to supranational oil corps, it did exactly what it set out to do.
The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby Shaved Monkey » Mon 14 Dec 2015, 18:48:37

It ensured Iraqi oil was sold in $US
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby ralfy » Mon 14 Dec 2015, 23:05:33

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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby Cid_Yama » Mon 14 Dec 2015, 23:52:32

Shaved Monkey wrote:It ensured Iraqi oil was sold in $US


True, Iraq was supposed to be an example to others that may want to leave the petrodollar. That didn't quite work out the way it was supposed to either.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby ennui2 » Tue 15 Dec 2015, 20:07:16

Cid_Yama wrote:The Iraqis immediately saw us as invaders after their oil


I don't think it had anything to do with that. It had to do with Baathist fighters being pissed off that they were out of power and reverting to insurgent tactics. This also had to do with the shiites taking over and them feeling like they were shutout from the political process. The chaos in Iraq by that point was destined to happen regardless of how much the US remained involved.

The fact of the matter is that oil is worthless unless you pump it out of the ground and sell it. So there is no reason not to sell the oil to whomever wants to pay for it, including the US. Blowing up your own oil infrastructure is self-defeating. It's just destroying your own economy.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby KaiserJeep » Wed 16 Dec 2015, 04:40:29

The US is taking Iraqi oil - on the open market, and with dollars not bullets. He who has money gets oil, always.

I think we spent too many lives and too much money in that hellhole as it was.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby charmcitysking » Wed 16 Dec 2015, 10:28:50

Plantagenet wrote:
mmasters wrote:Talk about a stupid move on the Bush administration. They could have at least used it to pay for the war.


In spite of what Donald Trump says, its a dumb idea to invade other countries and steal their oil.

Image
Stalin, Hitler and apparently Donald Trump think its OK to invade countries and steal their oil, but its not the way the USA operates.


Hitler, Stalin, Trump....and Jimmy Carter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Doctrine

Yes, it most certainly is the way the USA operates.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby Cid_Yama » Wed 16 Dec 2015, 15:28:05

....and Jimmy Carter.


Sorry, that is NOT what the Carter Doctrine states. The Carter Doctrine recognizes our national interest in the petroleum reserves of the Persian Gulf, and states we will REPEL any attacks on them and DEFEND them.

Nothing about seizing them and making them our own.

It was a statement that we will act militarily if our vital supply of petroleum in the Persian Gulf were threatened.

This was during the Cold War and was a recognition of the vulnerability of our oil supply in the case of war.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby KaiserJeep » Wed 16 Dec 2015, 15:55:32

Even today, the ME claims (not sure how reliable the figures are) half the world's oil reserves. I think that is KSA policy speaking, but they do still have significant quantities of oil, and are now drilling offshore and using US tech to squeeze the depleted existing wells.

I was never in favor of trading lives and treasure for oil - I'd rather have a stronger energy policy that mandated and rewarded renewables development. But (go ahead and call me a warmonger) I don't want to trade my American lifestyle for life in the Caliphate either - my arthritis hurts too much for a prayer rug.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby onlooker » Fri 18 Dec 2015, 19:31:05

No need to worry Kaiser, US will stay focused laser-like on the Middle East for as long as anyone on this site is alive.
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Re: Why didn't the US take Iraq's oil?

Unread postby Keith_McClary » Sat 19 Dec 2015, 02:04:55

KaiserJeep wrote:The US is taking Iraqi oil - on the open market, and with dollars not bullets. He who has money gets oil, always.

I think we spent too many lives and too much money in that hellhole as it was.

And the money goes to stooges who depend on the US to keep them in power and who can be counted on to stash the loot in US investments.
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