Greenspan "Clarifies" Iraq/Oil Remarks

MSNBC:

Clarifying a controversial comment in his new memoir, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he told the White House before the Iraq war that removing Saddam Hussein was "essential" to secure world oil supplies, according to an interview published on Monday.

Greenspan, who wrote in his memoir that "the Iraq War is largely about oil," said in a Washington Post interview that while securing global oil supplies was "not the administration's motive," he had presented the White House before the 2003 invasion with the case for why removing the then-Iraqi leader was important for the global economy.

Read the whole story: MSNBC

Comments

[IntegrityIntact]

03:04 PM on 09/18/2007

And, yeah for the record--of course it's about the fucking oil. And from this day forward, half of any dollar earned on Iraqi soil from these "vested interests" and private energy companies, and even Exxon, Mobil, the entire fleet of black gold plunderers on Bushee's list of oil buddies should go directly to the families of lost American soldiers, as well as those bravely wounded and maimed in combat.

[IntegrityIntact]

02:59 PM on 09/18/2007

Oh, certainly someone's put the kabash on it, but he's stilling saying in plain American English that the war now, is about oil. Sorry, but are we that stupidly regarded?

Now, the Iraq war being "largely about oil" is not exactly being about oil--yeeesh!

Let's wake up and stop clapping our flippers like eager seals at feeding time to every scrap of nonsense they continue to feed to us.

[Christinerosemary]

01:52 PM on 09/18/2007

Well DUHHHHHH

Greenspan must have been hiding under a rock or something. The rest of the world knew the war was about oil back in 2003.

[zelduh]

06:57 PM on 09/17/2007

Are they gonna go nuts when they see this AP article about Greenspan!!.
Monday September 17, 8:07 am ET
Report: Former Fed Boss Says Euro Could Replace U.S. Dollar As Favored Reserve Currency.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) --
According to an advance copy of an interview to be published in Thursday's edition of the German magazine Stern, former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said it is possible that the euro could replace the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency of choice.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070917/germany_greenspan_euro.html?.v=1

[Moosbrugger]

05:55 PM on 09/17/2007

He did not recant. He clarified. Librotards just suffer from confirmational bias.

[drblack]

05:46 PM on 09/17/2007

Only a person with no brain would think that the invasion of Iraq was about anything other then oil.
Everyone I speak to that isn't a dumb-ass who only listens to O'Really, Limpdog, and Fucxs news has always known this.
I can't believe that anyone fit to live could have ever felt that Saddam had anything to do with 9-11 or that Saddam and Bin Laden had anything other then contempt for each other and would not work together.

[Dantana]

04:11 PM on 09/17/2007

But it's the truth, when there were no WMD's to be found, it quickly became a goal of providing a chance for democracy for the Iraqi people, now that Maliki has turned out to be ineffectual, we would like to throw him overboard, so what IS it all about?

Even Petraeus could say if it was making the US safer. What is the mission then, and how will we know when it's accomplished?

[amerdiaspora]

03:54 PM on 09/17/2007

CHICKEN SHIT!

[NewAmericanCenturySucks]

02:30 PM on 09/17/2007

Had Mr. Greenspan not recanted, a new global perception of U.S. foreign policy may have emerged (America: thieving butchers).

Luckily, he did, and current global perceptions have been preserved (America: lying, thieving butchers).

[MidSection]

02:28 PM on 09/17/2007

Sounds like Greenspan was just clarifying his opinion. Perhaps he didn't want his ideas taken out of context, especially by people with political agendas. Good for him for not letting himself be used.

[Grannysue]

02:08 PM on 09/17/2007

They must have photos of him and Larry doin the toilet two step, otherwise why would he recant something he said he believes, and so do many of the rest of America. I always have and always will believe that Iraq was about nothing but Oil, and so is Iran. Take over the two countries, that was the Bush/Cheney agenda, and they really truly thought they could waltz into Iraq, throw over Saddam and everyone would be drinking and partying and sucking that oil out of the ground. Hum, to bad they didn't come up with a coherent plan first. Instead they simply throw more of our soldiers at it. Like they said "It's a small price to pay" for the oil! What truly "Patriotic" people we have in our government.

[Plowboy]

01:51 PM on 09/17/2007

Did poor little doublespeaking Greenspan get caught speaking plainly? Horrors! He'd better clarify that.
What I always found amusing (in addition to the contorted but meaningless expert announcements he made) was ther way supposdedly intelligent people scrambled to find out what those announcements signified.
And he got big big bug buccks for that.

But one assertion let the cat out of the bag. The Fed is supposedly independent of the administration and vice versa, but Mr. G. stated unequivocally that they worked together. "After all, it's only one government."
So, as I said all along, the big banks are part of our government -- along with some big corporations and ... but where in hell do the people come in? if at all!

[Sundialsvc4]

01:46 PM on 09/17/2007

We don't need Alan Greenspan to tell us the truth. Billions of people around this globe have seen exactly this thing many times before. No one is actually being deceived by this double-talk.

No one.

[VOTER]

02:00 PM on 09/17/2007

So true!

[Ginzaman]

01:45 PM on 09/17/2007

So he's changing his tune so he won't get cut out of those future neocon book and lecture profits?

[PaulDonaldson]

01:13 PM on 09/17/2007

Meanwhile, oil remains largely unmentioned in our national debate on Iraq. This exchange on Iraq between McCain and Kerry in the video below is a pretty good indicator of where the Republican/Democrat dialogue on the war is.

Meet The Press – Kerry & McCain
http://beta.redlasso.com/Community/ClipPlayer.aspx?i=fc90713d-4bba-4831-b134-4dd9dcf6a76d