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

[Macready]

Bravo General . . . you are so right: "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."

Wish you had spoken out earlier . . . and don't forget israel is out to grab as much land as she can from her neighbours to grow crops and flowers to sell internationally . . . it's all about exploitation . . .that is what america's foreign policy has been towards the Middle East and the Middle Eastern countries both know this and resent it . . .and quite frankly so do I . . . America needs a big change of direction in its policy towards the Middle East and just waiting for the 2008 elections is not enough . . .time to impeach Nancy . . . start the ball rolling . .. .

[rabun666]

The USA has basically treated the Arab oil producing nations as oil republics having turned the attention from the "banana republics" of central America the same tactics used to control the "banana republics" are being applied to control the oil republics and IT'S NOT WORKING GOVERNMENT. The reasons for the failure of using the banana republic strategy to the oil republics can be attributed to several obvious reasons starting with religion, size, geographical location, number of people just to name a few.

[dora rice]

the republicans are running scared of Hillary...­.after 6 years those hypocrits finally are serious of winning against Al_Qeada in Iraq and Rice even talks about a Palestinian state. If Hillary can do that to them now, I hate to see her kick their azz once she is in office.

[dora rice]

Now they open their mouth. When their paycheck and stars are secure. Where were they when we needed them to speak up in Iraq. Those Jonny come lately hypocrits are as bad as Pelosi and Reid.

[oafishcad]

When they're acting generals they cannot speak out against their Commander in Chief. Some did speak out BEFORE the war.

[Pdubya]

yeah, its called the UCMJ, court-martials, and hangings.

still done for treasonous defectors.

...and now loosely defined "enemy combatants"

thanks to the Patriot Act, courtesy of Neocons AND Dems on the HILL.

The Pres set the tone, and this is what your party gave us.

[dora rice]

As long as we are driving SUV's and soccer mom's take their kids to ball games with V-8 motors...w­e should keep our mouth shut about the Iraq war and how we are worried about our troops. Where is the partroism? I am driving a Toyota Camry 30 miles a gallon and would be ashamed to run around in Pick Ups that give 9-12 miles per gallon. Americans are the most wasteful people in the world and talk about patrioism the only patrioism they know is their life style and pocket book. And it will ruin this country eventually.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Right on.

Driving a Hummer is UNpatriotic.

Fuel economy IS a strategic defense initiative.

[progressivegreg]

My wife and I both drive Kia Rio's 38 mpg

[wars4profit]

Abizaid is trying to trick us into thinking that the oil wars benefit ordinary citizens when really they do not. We finance these wars with our taxes, yes. But it is the global oil corporations and war profiteers that reap the benefits, not us.

The simplest way to test this is to look at what we in the USA pay for gas at the pump. If the oil were =ours,= our prices would have gone down as a result of the seizure of Iraqi oil fields. Instead we are paying more than ever before. The oil no longer belongs to Iraqis but it does not belong to us. It belongs to global oil corporations.

Dick Cheney was more forthcoming than Gen. Abizaid. Below in a speech to his cronies he revealed that his goal was to privatize Middle East oil. Later, after assuming the US Vice Presidency, he used military force to transfer ownership of the oil from the Iraqi government to transnational oil corporations like his own Halliburton, now based in Dubai:


Where the prize ultimately lies

=Oil remains fundamentally a government business. While many regions of the world offer great oil opportunities, the Middle East with two thirds of the world’s oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies. Even though companies are anxious for greater access there, progress continues to be slow. It is true that technology, privatization and the opening up of a number of countries have created many new opportunities in areas around the world for various oil companies, but looking back to the early 1990s, expectations were that significant amounts of the world’s new resources would come from such areas as the former Soviet Union and from China. Of course that didn’t turn out quite as expected. Instead it turned out to be deep water successes that yielded the bonanza of the 1990s.=

--Dick Cheney in a speech to his oil industry peers at the London Institute of Petroleum in September of 1999
.

[sarcasticennui]

How soon will your socks show up raise?

You have been using multiples on the threads now.

wars4profit, geg, AntiFascis­tMajority, autodefensa, Libera1Texian.

Enjoy it while you can.

[kevenseven]

Wacky.

[VictorLudorum]

Oil in the sence that if Americans are failing to win Arabs and Asians then Texas will might as well have to dig rest of it's wells...

[FogBelter]

What is it with America's Generals? ... Good God

It seems the first thing they do once they retire is regrow their testicles.

Pathetic.

[kevenseven]

It is against military regulations for officers to criticize civilian leadership.

NCOs and privates are not so restricted.

Generals get fired for commenting on policy, read up on Doug MacArthur.

[FogBelter]

I am well aware of General MacArthur, and and know the background of some of the seedy ventures he got himself into during his postwar time in Japan. The General (A Republican) had been a pain in the neck to the Civilian Political Leadership since his Bonus Army antics. FDR sent him to the Philippines because he was such a political threat to him. There were a lot of reasons for MacArthur to have been removed from his positions, his complete failure of defending the Philippines at the onset of WWII was the most glaring ... But MacArthur was well connected with the American Elite and his Father had a lot of influence in the Army at the time Doug was coming up ... and, the fact that FDR knew America needed a Hero in the Pacific they could rally around saved Doug's ass as well. Korea was just the straw that broke the camel's back, MacArthur could have and probably should have been relieved of command numerous times before.

As far as Generals getting fired for commenting on policy, if the General has any morality at all and thinks that the policy is DOA and his troops are being squandered for nothing, the General can do the Heroic thing and ... RESIGN.

But then, we have seen evidence, time and time again, that for many of these modern Generals job security trumps honor.

[electioncountdown]

I was at this Stanford forum.

This is Thomas Friedman’s quote not General Abizaid. Please correct it ASAP. We don’t want to be inaccurate like the rightwing blogs are often. General Abizaid did not openly criticize Bush; however, he also did not support him. or defend him except when Thomas Friedman accused Bush of messing up the Middle Ease. Abizaid pointed out that the British screwed it up a long time ago.

-Election Countdown http://www.election-countdown.comm)

[LIR]

No, you think, General?

[kevenseven]

Abizaid is on your side.

[marko77]

The General is quite right about how we see the Middle East, i.e. it is one gonzo sized gas pump.

Has anyone ever been interested in anything else over there? Not unless you love lots of blowing sand, or sunbathing in 120 degree heat? And Islam? No - the West is Christian, but it allows people of other Faiths to live here and practice - unlike in the Middle East where Christians and Jews are second class citizens, basically.

[jdfast]

Where was he when he was on active duty. Kept his mouth shut of cover his ass while out troops kept dying. Nice leader of men. Fuck the ground pounders its all about me and my pension and rank. What a poor excuse for a leader. Had no guts then and now after he has his he opens his mouth. Hope he can sleep at night. I know there are a lot of kids that were under his command that are sleeping permanently because he didn't do his job.

[Tom95134]

Just as important, where has Abizaid been since his retirement in March? Do these guys all have some kind of blackout period after they retire where they can't say anything? This is the same bullshit as Snachez who sat around with his thumb in his mouth for 18 months and just now is speaking out.

>> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/13/washington/13general.html

[Pdubya]

I take it you were in? taking orders is hard business. giving them is even harder when in battle.

[kellygrrrl]

I am so sick of these "experts" all speaking out against the travesty of this Admin AFTER the point when their voices could have actually made a difference

Greenspan, and all these military a$$holes can rot in hell right next to the Dicktator and his puppet

[kevenseven]

OK, again. Officers are barred by military regulation from commenting on civilian leadership.

Plus it is traditional that officers keep it to themselves.

Abizaid could have resigned his commission, and been pilloried as a traitor.

Abizaid is on your side, sister.

[Pdubya]

and, if he had done something tactically or strategically against policy orders, would have been held treasonous, derelict, and possibly shot or hung. At least be in Leavenworth (and I used to live right next door...not a good place).

[FlaExRepub]

No disrespect Kellygrrl but:

I know I wasn't out of the country prior to the invasion of Iraq because I certainly heard from Joe Wilson, Hans Blix, and a few others but I never saw a march "by the people" on the streets leading to the capitol, certainly not of any size. We essentially sat back and watched these good men pay a heavy price for standing up without our support. We all sat on our asses and let big media do our talking for us, which really equated to W.H. propaganda. This criminal administration orchestrated the crime and we assisted, in our silence. There are surely a dozen people that should be tried and imprisoned or lawfully executed but there are also the "people" and our "elected representatives". There's plenty of blame to go around.

[kellygrrrl]

we marched at the Federal Bldg here in LA several times.

it wasn't quite as big a turn-out as it should have been, but we were there and we stopped traffic

[kellygrrrl]

The SS Lameduck continues to sink
All living creatures continue to jump ship

[Ginzaman]

I've never served in the military. But don't all military people have a duty to disobey an order that they KNOW is wrong?

[1differentdrummer]

Illegal, not wrong. If troops disobeyed all orders that were wrong they would be on breaks constantly.

[dora rice]

if you never served, you shouldn't have an opinion in this matter. Get it.

[cindyw]

I beg your pardon? Only those who've served in the military can have an opinion? This is the United States, not a military junta.