Greenspan: Because Of Oil, Saddam Was 'Far More Important To Get Out Than Bin Laden'

Think Progress:

In his new memoir, The Age of Turbulence, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan writes that he is "saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil." Greenspan later clarified his remark in an interview with the Washington Post, saying that while oil was not "the administration's motive," it was "essential" to remove Saddam Hussein because of it.

In an interview with Charlie Rose last week, Greenspan went even further in his defense of the Iraq war, saying it was "far more important to get" Saddam Hussein "out than bin Laden."

Read the whole story: Think Progress

Comments

[janflora]

duh...but thanks for bringing it to light...

[sugarmoes]

...on the corpses of 3,000+ american civilians who were just going to work... aka bush's best day ever.

[Macready]

Thank you Alan Greenspan . . . let's hope every major news outlet in the US including the Murdoch owned press and TV runs with this . . .

[robinhood1]

The price of oil has gone up a lot since the Iraq war started, and Iraq is selling less of it, owing to the breakdown of law and order in the country. Whatever our convoluted objectives were before we went in there, they have largely not succeeded. Yes Saddam is gone, but the US is probably more hated in most of the Middle East than it has been in many years. The goodwill the US built up after 9/11 is mostly gone.

Even if oil goes to $100 or $150 a barrel in the coming year, it won't be a problem for Mr. Greenspan, given the big advance ($8 million) he got for his book, which I noticed was sold out at a bookstore I visited today.

The only problem Mr. Greenspan has to worry about is a break down of law and order in this country. If gasoline goes to $10 a gallon and regular bread goes to $8 a loaf, who knows what might happen?

[Ginzaman]

He's playing both sides for REALLY BIG BUCKS. The war was for oil (the progressives will buy the book). It wasn't the ONLY reason, but it played a part (the neocons will buy the rest?). God speaks, says it was because of OIL. And still the brain dead neocons (insert name here) deny reality. And the corporate media puts their crap on the air.

[ajax2]

Alan the WH and MSM have spent thousands of hours and millions of dollars denying this. You could have advised them to save their money, but didn't.

[leftLibertarian]

Bush and Cheney never did care about getting the leader of the 9/11 attacks.
Much more important to secure Iraq Oil Fields for their buddies.

[GiveMeStrength]

Alan, PLEASE do your country a big fat favor and drop dead! I am totally amazed that in this great country they call America, morons like this always seem to raise to positions of power.

Heil Bush!

[oafishcad]

While Mr. Greenspan said it was more important to "remove" Saddam than Ossama, he never said why we had the right to do so. Sure I'd like a lot of what my neighbors up the street in Brentwood have, I have no right to go take it, even if I had the physical power to do it, I don't have the right. So many Americans have confused the MIght to do something with the Right to do it. We never had the right to Invade Iraq. They were never a threat to the USA. It was an immoral act, whatever the motivation. Especially if Greenspan is correct and we did it to control the oil. Yes, it's a practical and valid reason to WANT to do it. It still doesn't give us the RIGHT.

[Wiredwilly]

Good. Now Congress can call Mr. Greenspan for the Impeachment hearings.

[workingboy]

by the way, where is alan shoving all his money? perhaps Barrr has an additional mattress in her cowgirl boudoir!

[workingboy]

heard him being interviewed: he thinks Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid are greater financial threats than the Crime Family's war and tax cuts for the rich. he just happened to be all over MSM, pushing his book, when the Feds cut rates. timing?
can we talk? do you think his wife puts a bag over his head before they Do It?
he's another one who should go away but these vampires just hang around forever.

[oafishcad]

Greenspan is a partisan Republican, always has been. Why do you think interest rates got so low for so long before the 2004 election? He calls social security a threat because he wants it gone. That's a hell of a lot of money the Financial Elite don't have their hands on. The GOP is all about giving all the power and wealth to the few and taking it from the many.

[Grannysue]

Gee Alan, how nice it would have been for all those parents, wives, husbands, children, brothers, sisters, etc., if you had stated this back when it counted! I knew this WAR was all about oil from day one, I cannot for the life of me understand how intelligent people living in this country believed all the BS the White house was doling out. It was more convenient for him I guess to retire then tell everyone the truth, too little too late for thousands and thousands of people.
Cheney and Bush will neither one leave IRAQ, they want the oil plain and simple and they I'm sure made some very big promises to a whole lot of people about what was going to happen to that oil. That is why they leave our soldiers to die in Iraq, while they figure out how there going to get the oil. Blood and oil don't mix, but in Bush's case he said it does, so that's final. How sad it is to be an American now days, I for one, would truly like my country back the way it was before this psycho took over.

[oafishcad]

Greenspan approves of the war for oil, why would he complain?

[PaulDonaldson]

Here are two very revealing clips from Greenspan’s appearance with Tim Russert on Meet The Press. Spread these around the internet as much as you can - this is a really harsh indictment of the war in Iraq and the Bush Administration in general!!

VIDEOS

Alan Greenspan: The Iraq War is Largely About Oil
http://beta.redlasso.com/Community/ClipPlayer.aspx?i=7c626177-7df1-4aab-820d-30147db847b3

Alan Greenspan Criticizes Bush/GOP Spending
http://beta.redlasso.com/Community/ClipPlayer.aspx?i=364a5dec-8930-4e23-8ae4-f35109f31ee1

[realitytrumpsbull]

Greenspan finally cops to the truth, better late than never, I guess, but the truth is
out there, and a further truth is that they
keep plowing more money into rockets and bombs
and questionable practices than they do into
rooting out the problem of chronic dependency
on imported oil. Mercedes Benz is pressing ahead, though, I just saw their ad for a diesel
car that'll make it 600 miles on a tank of fuel.
NOW we're starting to talk fuel efficiency, and
there's some bike company that builds a diesel
bike that'll go 100MPG, 4 gallon tank or so,
and it'll run on domestically produced biodiesel. That just ROCKS...mo­re of that, and less with the political rhetoric and lame excuses...

[leftLibertarian]

Yes, Green$cam in CYA mode.