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

[Grannysue]

Oh really Mr. General Sir, when did you pull your head out of your ass and discover that one? And you held the pumps open in Iraq for Bush and Cheney, while our men and women and thousands of Iraqi's died. Hope that other star was worth it.

[INQUIRER]

“I think that it’s really about stability in the Gulf. What could possibly be more conducive to stability than to remove the restraints on a perennial hereditary war? Isn’t producing a million or so refugees increasing stability?” the Secretary of Defense said. “And if that’s not enough, didn’t we increase stability by failing to guard our weapons dumps? You can’t have stability without sectarian executions, can you?”

“It’s about rogue regimes trying to develop weapons of mass destruction,” the Secretary continued. “You know. Like Korea. You remember when we bombed and invaded Korea. Don’t you? And when I say regimes, I mean more than one.”

“It’s about aggressive dictators,” the Secretary went on thoughtfully. “You know. The kinda guys who try to get what they want with threats. And if the threats don’t work, they invade. Without the permission of the people. Without permission from the UN. You know, those aggressive kind of dictators.­”

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

ZOIKS

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Re the General's trifecta (oil, Israel, repression), per Noam Chomsky, why the people of the middle east hate the US:

"President Eisenhower, in an internal discussion, observed to his staff, and I'm [Noam Chomsky]quoting now, "There's a campaign of hatred against us in the Middle East, not by governments, but by the people."

"The National Security Council discussed that question and said, "Yes, and the reason is, there's a perception in that region that the United States supports status quo governments, which prevent democracy and development and that we do it because of our interests in Middle East oil. Furthermore, it's difficult to counter that perception because it's correct. It ought to be correct. We ought to be supporting brutal and corrupt governments which prevent democracy and development because we want to control Middle East oil, and it's true that leads to a campaign of hatred against us.""

http://www.cbc.ca/hottype/season02-03/middleeast_chomsky.html

In short, we support *ssholes because *ssholes we support give us oil. And we wonder why the people said *ssholes are *ssholes TOWARDS... don't like us.

It's not that complicated.

Note that per Noam Chomsky (of all people), in the view of Eisenhower and the NSC, it can all be adequately explained WITHOUT even introducing Israel into the equation.

Even if Israel did not exist, the people of the middle east would STILL hate us.

[whomung]

It's like we kept poking out finger in the eye of the middle east....

They asked us to stop....

We didn't.... kept poking

They asked us again

We kept poking

They finally got pissed off and hit us....

and that was PROOF that we needed to go kill them all

Respecting them enough as human beings and ending stop our governmental policy of poking them in the eye never crossed our leaders minds

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

If only we had the courage to think that if all the ME countries were TRULY democracies, they would CHOOSE to sell us oil.

Unfortunately, the Neo-con no-post-Sa­ddam-plann­ing idealogues, mainly Cheney and Rummy, screwed the pooch on that one.

Intentionally, I might add. Why? It's easier to control a pet autocracy than a pet democracy.

[Pdubya]

Its crossed Ron Paul's, and he's voted that way.

He will be a guest speaker at the Arab-American talk coming up soon.

www.ronpaul2008.com

...and people call him a racist, GRRRRRR

[Jonahson]

Well, if it is about keeping the oil price low the strategy certainly didn't work out for Bush. Instead it has a revese effect.
The price of oil has sky rocketted and the oil
output from Iraq has reduced.
The only people who profited from the Iraq war
are those who produce oil, the contractors in Iraq and perhaps Al Qaeda.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Who said anything about price low?
The Bushies just want steady supply under their control, and maximum profit.
How did low price get into it?
You mentioned producers. Add refiners and distributors.

[dora rice]

as long as oil stocks go up we won't see oil prizes come down. Even the Saudis know how the oil barons screw and cheat the consumer.

[CyrusBeaucephus]

Reducing production is the goal as it jacks up the price

[paixa3]

The resident evil never wanted low oil prices. Where on earth did you learn this? Au contraire, higher prices = greater profits.

[totalliberal]

Bush sits back smugly and turns to Rice.

"And that's why he didn't git his 4th star Condi. You ain't planin on writin no books are yuh.".

Condi nods smiling, the sweat beginning to drip on the floor.

"No sir Masa Bush".

[mongus]

And thanks Hillary, for your vote to invade Iraq. Remember, Bush did it because he got support from Republicans and Democrats.

Where was your "experience" in foreign policy, what were you thinking? And what about your blind faith in George Bush?

Now, you are helping him do some 'sabre-rattling' against Iran with your support of the Kyl/Lieberman amendment.

If Bush bombs Iran, you should join the Republican Party and be one of 'their' candidates.

Obama '08

[Stolentime]

History will not regard the current generation of Americans kindly. Future generations will look back at this period of time in America and be absolutely befuddled how an entire Nation could be so utterly ruined by an administration headed by a person who makes the village idiot look like a genius. Here we are in an era of instantaneous communication, the internet, mass media, millions of written publications daily,and truth available to just about anyone with a molecule of intellectual curiousity and the ability to hunt and peck a word into a google search window, yet we are living in the midst of the complete shocking destruction and unraveling of the fabric of the America which once was the model of democracy and hope for all of humanity. It is breathtaking and incomprehensible think that it has all happened in less than a generation. United we stand, divided we fall... surely we are in a freefall now. The the ever morphing rationale du jour puked up by this administration and all who support them is entirely devoid of any substantive, pragmatic reasoning whatsoever. History will judge us as the most stupid, pathetic,b­rainwashed­,complacen­t, and apathetic people in all of history. Take a good look around folks, because it is going to be all downhill with a tailwind from this point forward barring some unforseen miracle.

[BuyRubles]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,511579,00.html

[BuyRubles]

IF ANY OF YOU THINK THE US IS LEAVING IRAQ THIS CENTURY, I IMPLORE YOU TO LOOK AT THIS PICTURE.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,511579,00.html

[ManipulatedByMedia]

Looks like a nice no-bid contract..­.

[paixa3]

You bet....

[wars4profit]

BuyRubles--I pasted it into the address bar and took a look. It's a fancy embassy, but the Iraqis could kick out the occupiers and put it to some other use.

[unclebucky]

600+ mortar proof apartments.
In.the.Gre­en.Zone.

Yep. Surge is working. Might finally succeed after most Iraqis are killed off. Of course, that means most people of the world will have to be killed off to kill of the Iraqis. Collateral damage.

But the bunkers will survive.

Ho hum.

Ugh.

--UB.

[racetoinfinity]

"keep prices low"? That's a laugh. I think the Bushco cabal is THRILLED that oil prices have gone through the roof; that was one of the main ideas, I imagine. That big jump in big oil profits, and their huge shares in defense “contractors” including private companeis like Blackwater taking over military functions is making them billionaires.

[TLV]

If you have the time, watch this video about just who is profiting from having Bush and Cheney in office propagating The Terrorized States of America:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1981225573970187433

[PoliticalPolyanna]

That's why I have always referred to the U.S. invasion of Iraq as the "BUSH/CHEN­EY/ROVE/RU­MSFELD RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN". And the more that comes out about B/C/R/R, the more I believe invading Iraq and the amassing of personal fortune was their sole reason for running for office. With or without 9/11, we'd have invaded Iraq. It was the plan with which they took office. Only difference is that after 9/11, they had to waste all that time, money and energy in Afghanistan. Without 9/11, however, they would have had a much harder sell to get their little retirement plan started. Lucky for them they had the fear, rage and grief of a nation to jump start their little business venture.

This administration is made up of souless, amoral creatures. Sadly, they will never get their just punishment while on Earth. But, as the Lord said, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man through the gates of Heaven. I'm sure the difficulty level goes WAY up when that man became rich off the blood of others.

[Liberal2]

racetoinfi­nity....
You're right and the reason you're right is we get 50-60% of our oil from other countries. Therefore, on the domestically produced 40-50%, the US oil companies are now making $60-$70 on each barrel pumped from US wells because they price gasoline based on the world spot market price of a barrel of petroleum. It's the domestic production that earns US oil companies their big profits, big oil likes the $/barrel to rise.

[sparkandy]

Anyway, what's up with generals all of a sudden seeing the big picture? His comments are perceptive and show an understanding of a wider world than just the military.

[meandmagoo]

What really pisses me off is these guys see it as their duty to lie their asses off for Bush while they're still in uniform,but,when they now the impact is much diminished,they decide to speak up.

This is not how I have always understood the oath one takes to protect this country and the constitution when one joins the military.E­nabling a murderous idiot is not a duty,it's a crime.

[TLV]

Who listened when retired general, Anthony Zinni, said the war in Iraq was planned at least 13 years ago? What on earth was the justification then if 9/11 was 7 years away?

How could anyone believe Bush's lying mouth when he suddenly said we had turn away from pursuit of Bin Laden to sacrifice our brave men and women because of Saddam Hussein's WMD stockpile and avenge the Kurds?

What assholes will admit to voting AGAIN for Bush and Cheney in 2004 to allow them to continue this torture fest and bloodbath now?

Anyone? Anyone?

[mongus]

If it was planned 13 years ago, under whose watch was that?

[protagonia]

How can anyone associate 9/11 with our need for oil?

I refuse to believe there's a connection. That's just paranoia.

Maybe I'm too emotional about it, but I just can't believe that we would do that to ourselves.

[Pdubya]

Ron Paul has the most support of the military. And 70% of Americans want to end the war. No, the other 30% are not the military.

[Giordano Bruno]

Gore Vidal said there were two basic reasons for the Iraq War: 1) Oil and 2) To establish a military presence in the Middle East in his book War Dreaming. For this statement he was widely criticized. Now a General says it at none other Stanford University, beneath Hoover Tower no less. I wonder if his ass will be shot as full of buckshot as poor Mr. Vidal's.

The one's who insist that the motives were more noble, but then keep shifting which noble motive it was from preventing WMDS, from preventing genocide, to establishing a democracy, to keep terrorism from coming to the US, etc. Goodness gracious, great balls of Fire. What nonsense. Of course it is about oil.

[TLV]

We just watched the repeat of The Daily Show featuring Lynne Cheney. Stewart asks her about Iraq and 9/11. Of course the bitch says that WE haven't been attacked since 9/11 and it is because her husband and Bush have prevented that. Stewart says "but the first WTC attack was 8 YEARS before the one on 9/11! " Lynne Cheney says, "Yea, but there were other attacks around the world during that time too." "That's right," Stewart says, "and other countries have been attacked SINCE 9/11." She throws in, "but WE haven't been attacked!" (As if America is so much more special than other counties.)

Stewart reminds her of the anthrax attack and that those who HAVE been bombed since 9/11 are our allies. I'm sure Lynne Cheney left thinking, "Big deal. Who cares about them? What can we Republicans gain politically if they get bombed? Nothing!"

[alfrede]

Hi,

Thank you General Abizaid for your lifetime of service to our country!!

It is disconcerting to read these comments by the General because as a four star officer of the US Army or any of the military services it this observer's opinion, that he had a duty to speak out to his superiors and to those in Congress (through the Committee process) to give his views on why or why not our sons and daughters should go to war.

If the decision is made to go to war, then it is his duty to make sure that they go in sufficient numbers and with the proper equipment.

Perhaps he did all of this and was ignored.

It is not enough for retired officers to speak out; the candidates for President in 2008 must be pressed on what they are going to do to bring our troops home!!

It is pretty obvious that Pres Bush and VP Cheney will leave office, with our sons and daughters still engaged in combat in Iraq.

They (Pres & VP) do not have a plan to end the war they started in Iraq.

It will be interesting to see if the Republican candidates for President have a plan of some sort. They must be pressed on what they are going to do!!

In the mean time, Osama Bin Laden and his inner circle are alive and living in the Afgan/Pakistan border area.

What do the Presidential candidates propose to do about Osama??

[Erdgeist]

An officer, and maybe a few know this, only swears fealty to the U.S. Constitution. He is under no obligation to obey the POTUS. Only an NCO swears fealty to both. Here is the officer's oath:

I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God." (DA Form 71, 1 August 1959, for officers.)

Here is the oath of an Army NCO:

"I, (state your name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. (So help me God)." (Note that the last sentence is not required to be said if the speaker has a personal or moral objection, as is true of all oaths administered by the United States government).

[wmbear]

WHAT? YOU MEAN THE ARAB WORLD ***ISN'T*** A COLLECTION OF BIG GAS STATIONS??­?...

Jeez, what the hell are we in Iraq for? (Oh, yeah, I forgot, to bring democracy and death to the Iraqis....­)

[TLV]

This remind me of that great bumpersticker I saw right after the war started...­.

...What is OUR oil doing under THEIR sand?

[Fightnmad]

The Iraqi debacle is all about oil AND power. Oil is just one benefit for these guys.

The ruinous force of tyranny is coming, as prophetically foretold by our Founding Fathers, and these red flags issue an ominous warning:

Secrecy; an all-powerful Unitary Executive; the quest for Global Dominance; domestic warrant-less eavesdropp­ing/spying­; secret rendition; voiding the writ of habeas corpus; abuse/torture of “the enemy”; nullificat­ion/violat­ion of international treaties; election-tampering; racism/bigotry, religious intolerance; fear-mongering; border “reinforcements”; unquestioning loyalty/God-like obedience to governmental authority; cronyism; the illegal/deceitful invasion/occupation of a sovereign nation and its ruthless “Americanization”; neglect/destruction of domestic agenda/inf­rastructur­e; suppression of citizenry freedoms/rights of privacy, legal recourse, speech, dissent, assembly, travel, while instilling fear of retribution for the noncompliant; propaganda-spewing media; protection­/elevation of Military/Industrial Corporatocracy; national security obsession/slogans (“Homeland” Security, National Security Agency, PATRIOT Act); and utter disregard for the Rule of Law.

There are many more things like war profiteering, and the new twist of creating proactive laws that will exonerate those who perpetrated crimes in the past. You get my drift.

I tried to post this several days ago, but was censored. There are no swear words, only my opinion and observations.

Are we that far gone already?

[MilwaukeeMike]

That's, in short, a definition of fascism, is it not? You can always tell they're worried about being called fascist because their Propagandaists are out there saying "No, you are." Absolutely amazing.