Abizaid: "Of Course It's About Oil, We Can't Really Deny That"

Think Progress:

During a round table discussion on "the Fight for Oil, Water and a Healthy Planet" at Stanford University on Saturday, Gen. John Abizaid (Ret.), the former CENTCOM Commander, said that "of course" the Iraq war is "about oil":

"Of course it's about oil, we can't really deny that," Abizaid said of the Iraq campaign early on in the talk.

"We've treated the Arab world as a collection of big gas stations," the retired general said. "Our message to them is: Guys, keep your pumps open, prices low, be nice to the Israelis and you can do whatever you want out back. Osama and 9/11 is the distilled essence that represents everything going on out back."

Read the whole story: Think Progress

Comments

[paixa3]

Take time to read what the general said. He is absolutely correct and a wise man.

ONLY ABOUT OIL,.....fuck everyone and everything else.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

Everyone with half a brain knew that this war was never about curbing terrorism. No clear link was ever made between Saddam and Osama. But the Bush administraion exploited the tragedy of 9/11 to carry out an invasion that would have happened. Nothing would have stopped it. 9/11 was just a convenient excuse for these criminals to execute the greatest heist of all time.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

Trolls are silent now. They are waiting for Rush to come on and tell them how to spin this. It should be the standard stuff,
Smear the General, Question his credentials, Question his service and call him a liar. Notice that doing this is not considered by the morons on the left as unpatriotic or demoralizing the troops.

[testerwebbdemocrat]

Make no mistake, I I listen to every show, this is one of those guys Rush says is a phony soldier, you know, the guy in the picture with the uniform on and all the bright shiny medals on his chest. That one.

Yeah where are the f&*king piss-ant trolls on this one. They can't fart without Rush telling them what to plagiarize. 99% of the troll droppings on this site are straight off the AM radio, but we can't get on Freep, Little Green F^&&balls, or Hotair. They're too F*&king chicken. Bock-bocccck.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

Yep. If you were here yesterday you would have noticed some of those plagarized arguments directly from Rush's show. They are so brain dead that they need to be told exactly how to spin the story.

[Sundialsvc4]

Another general who became President, Ulysses S. Grant, put it simply: "Generals don't start wars. Politicians do."

Generals in the command of an Army should not be having to deal with the situations that they are put into by "politicians," let alone BUSINESSMEN who use political office to further their own quite-ruthless business interests.

These men and women might care nothing for their soldiers, but the Generals do. And the people of the country do.

[BrickSykes]

You are all probably sick of reading this stuff, but from what I'm reading here there are still some who aren't convinced of what motivated this present Iraq mess:

http://tinyurl.com/2epwae

Yeah, this is the Richard Behan piece from back in September. Those who haven't read it will appreciate it. Those who are sick of it just have a little patience.

Brick

[booker52]

Just goes to show you that the Generals do know whats going on. It's too bad none of them spoke up while in command. A little honest discussion might have stopped this war before it even started. I do realize that one General did speak up and got let go. So all this tells me is that come hell or high water this WH wanted to invade, WMDs or not. If it's Bu$h's policy is to keep oil prices down, then he has failed big time by his own actions.

[oafishcad]

It isn't about keeping oil prices down. It's about control of oil. Privatization and profits for the oil companies.

[Pdubya]

uh, some did speak up while in command, and were "let go."

[NCGigi]

The Answer Comes Up Every Day. We must harvest the sunlight that beams onto our earth 24 hours a day. There has been no serious federal investment in alternative energy production. Manhatten Project for Solar Power NOW!

[thegreatgiginthesky]

It is never going to happen. Solar power is great source of energy considering that our sun will be around for a few billion years more before it dies out. Another source to consider is water itself or even nuclear power if harnessed correctly should be clean. But these alternatives will never be pursued because there is too much money to be made in Oil. The way things are moving the next world war will be fought over the Oil reserves of the earth. Alternative energy sources are just lip service now.

[NCGigi]

Better to light one candle than curse the darkness. Spread the word: Solar is the solution.

[ljsfolly]

Now that we are all aware of the long standing truth of the matter that every action this administration has done is about oil in the middle east the next bandwagon is the oil rigs going up in the north pole where the ice is melting from global warming. Let us all hurry up and finish off the world by going to get the oil for the cars that ruins the air along with all the other emissions from coal etc. so we can all drive off into the sunset.

[oafishcad]

It's not just about oil. It's also about timber, mining, and every other campaign donor that wants the end to regulation and the government in their back pocket.

[AurigaRa]

There's no shortage of truthtellers. Lazy, comatose Americans do not care.

[Boobaloo]

but, but, but, they hate us for our freedoms!


but, but, but, they're anti-semites!

same
same
same.

[PollM]

Shhh. they'll label you too.....

This off course means supporting rogue regimes that support our policies, and if they do not go along we label them as terrorists. Are way or the highway.

Do you agree with Gen. Abizaid that American Foreign Policy has ‘Treated The Arab World As A Collection Of Big Gas Stations’? ---------> http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=717
.

[reedmaker]

Hello, HuffPo... this quote came from Tom Friedman of the NYTimes, not Gen. Abizaid. Please correct.

[helonias]

Well well, its to bad our citizens are more concerned about NFL/MLB and nachos, I mean bread and circuses, to have any clue about our long and despicable oil meddling in the mid east for the past 50 years.

And our lack of care about the lies our mass media feeds us about this history. Why during any of the debates, is no candidate asked about out involvement in overthrowing the dem elected govs of Iran and Iraq.

We deserve what we get

[bluesnot]

How are we supposed to care about the oil meddling when there is so much Christmas shopping to do?

[HurryUp1212009]

The average selfish American could care less how many GIs dies yesterday, as long as they can fill up their Hummers and Explorers and Yukons at less than $3 per gallon today.

Maybe when gas spikes to $5 per gallon (off oil at $86 per barrel), people will wake up and start economizing.

Naah... They'll DEMAND Congress DO SOMETHING about gas prices...

We are a decadent society, and politics mirrors society... We elected these scumbags so we wouldn't have to give up our selfish lifestyles.

[PollM]

This off course means supporting rogue regimes that support our policies, and if they do not go along we label them as terrorists. Are way or the highway.

Do you agree with Gen. Abizaid that American Foreign Policy has ‘Treated The Arab World As A Collection Of Big Gas Stations’? ---------> http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=717

.

[konchster]

So rare to hear the truth What amazes me is the constant denial from Big Oil Bush and his cronies It only goes to emphasize what they think of the intellect of the American people

[bluesnot]

It's too bad the American people can't follow up their recognition of the truth with action. We know that oil is the root cause of the war. Why aren't we taking more action, especially as individuals, to reduce our consumption? A 10% reduction is easy and will make a difference.

[HurryUp1212009]

Just think:

If, in response to 9/11, Bush dictated that we would become 100% independent of Mideast oil by, say 2012, and committed $500 Billion and 160,000 jobs to that goal; where would America be today???

[bluesnot]

Yeah but, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to wear a flight suit. It simply wouldn't have been macho or flashy enough to be pragmatic.

[vippy]

Do generals really ever retire or can they be called back at any time, ergo, Abizaid's words
are appreciated which only emphasize what we
already knew except for some hardcore GOPers
who still say it was not about oil.

[sugarmoes]

they know it too. they just won't admit it in order to protect their precious bushy.

[HurryUp1212009]

Too bad Abazaid didn't resign in protest when he was running CENTCOM.

What good are his words NOW???

[jii]

Does Rush Limbaugh's Ebay auction of the infamous, Democratic letter to Clear Channel, get Limbaugh off the hook for dissing dissenting soldiers like Abizaid?

Not according to radiocons.com

http://www.radiocons.com/rushlimbaughphonypatriotauction.htm