Did the US really invade IRAQ for the oil?

[Pipine 10]

Did you see tony blair on parkinson saying that it was a hard decision but with god's help a good one, devine wisdom it was not, no god i believe in would have sanctioned this dreadful act of going to war without the mandate of the people, perhaps tony thought he might lose a referendum on it and then he must surely have had to step down, i call him tory blair.

 

It really shocked me that he ignored the people he is supposed to be serving and just tagged along with Bush. He could have at least asked us what we wanted him to do

[canugetagrip 10]

God bless your friend can chick and thanks for sharing your views, i too am not happy about any country losing a love one in this dispute for oil/deleting a regime.

[firecracker 10]

I have a friend who will be serving in Iraq in June with the British forces. I also have a sister that use to serve in the Canadian military and did some UN peace keeping in Haiti in the mid-1990's.

 

Even though Canada isn't in Iraq, they certainly are in Afganastan and we are getting pounded on big time now - lost 3 this past week alone.

 

These experiences change the soldiers and their families forever - I know that from personal experience and I have a difficult time with anyone being over there - no matter what nationality - for something that is built around oil and a huge personal agenda by the current US President.

In the eyes of the Islamists, the fact that Canada has got troops in Afghanistan is reason enough for Canada to be a terrorist target. And I doubt oil was the first thing on Bush's mind when Iraq was invaded. Saddam used oil revenues to build over 900 palaces for himself, and sponsor terrorist outfits by offering Palestinian families $25,000 for every suicide bomber they produced (it is doubtful if any Palestinian families actually got paid though). Not one cent of it went to the Iraqi people - at least oil revenues are going to the Iraqi people now. He starved his own people and blamed it on the West. His sons took in girls off the streets and gained pleasure in raping them and having them killed. We maintained no-fly zones over Iraq, but at the same time relied on our planes not malfunctioning or being shot down (the spectacle of any of our pilots being held as a blackmailing chip haunted our leaders). This couldn't go on indefinately, and now Saddam will have to answer for his crimes against humanity - but isn't it peculiar that those lefties, who claimed to be opposed to Saddam's brutality, suddenly showed their true colours and sided with him when it came down to removing him.

[canugetagrip 10]

I agree anne we have a party elected by 33% of the country who could be bothered to vote and we are told that is democracy.

These politicians become more arrogant with every term of office they win in my view.

[firecracker 10]

Very true firecracker but wouldn't we do the same if an arab country had invaded the uk? not that it is likely,we don't know what it's like but i'm sure glad sheffield isn't suffering the same plite as baghdad can you imagine living there let alone reporting on the war.

Is it really 3 years ago that the dictatorship and war ended?, i remember seeing the statue of sadam being toppled from my hotel on tv in malta on my honeymoon.

 

Do you think american foreign policy would have been different had bush not been the president,the folk in the us must be sick to the stomach of hearing about all their casualties of war.

 

Did you see tony blair on parkinson saying that it was a hard decision but with god's help a good one, devine wisdom it was not, no god i believe in would have sanctioned this dreadful act of going to war without the mandate of the people, perhaps tony thought he might lose a referendum on it and then he must surely have had to step down, i call him tory blair.

You've got to realise that we cannot afford to be seen as weak - certainly not in the eyes of the Islamists. Had we and the US done nothing in response to 911, the Islamists would have been telling the whole Muslim world that the West is an emasculated paper tiger that is ripe for toppling. This would only have resulted in more terrorism against us, and the weakness the West had shown since 1979 - remember the US hostage crisis, and the weak responses to it and other events and atrocities over the following 22 years only served to encourage our enemies, resulting in 911. At least our enemies don't see us as weak anymore, and by our actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, we've taken out thousands of terrorists who would otherwise have been operating in the West in a honeypot strategy - the sort who would love to pull off more 911s, and also put troops on two of Iran's borders, should they be needed.

[canugetagrip 10]

It's the idealism of these people that needs erasing, just because you take out a few misserable arabs that's not to say another few will be replaced like a production line, these people are not frightened of death but are hell bent on their own destruction let alone our people in the west.

I agree with you that action needed to be taken against the islamic fundamentalists but remember "a terrorist only has to be lucky once when targeting it's victims"

[firecracker 10]

It's the idealism of these people that needs erasing, just because you take out a few misserable arabs that's not to say another few will be replaced like a production line, these people are not frightened of death but are hell bent on their own destruction let alone our people in the west.

I agree with you that action needed to be taken against the islamic fundamentalists but remember "a terrorist only has to be lucky once when targeting it's victims"

We know they're not frightened of death, and that makes them much more dangerous. Killing terrorists is a holding operation, but more has to be done to actually win this battle for our civilization. And a golden opportunity has just been lost - those cartoons. We have caved in to threats through political correctness when we should have stood firm. Islam was coming under intense scrutiny and being revealed for what it is. Ground that was being gained through those cartoons should have been exploited and the truth told about that religion, its prophet, and those blood-curdling verses of the Koran and those texts from the sira and hadith that call for Jihad to be waged against the infidel, not to mention the fact that if you really do get virgins in paradise for blowing yourself up, then why haven't the mullahs and clerics strapped on the explosive belts and blown themselves to smithereens? Is it because the reality of blowing yourself and infidels up at the same time results in being prodded up the backside by trident-wielding demons in the firepit of Hell? We should have published those cartoons and be damned and stood up in the face of intimidation - instead we didn't publish, we curled up our toes, and we've still been damned. Over the next few years, Islam might have strarted to unravel, but thanks to PC cravenness, we'll never know.

[CanChick 10]

What we all tend to forget is that it was the war in Afganastan that was about 911 - not Iraq.

 

Iraq, if you think about it objectively, is not about terrorism - it's about the mistreatment of the people of Iraq and a horrid dictator who killed and abused his power in many ways. The hidden agenda of George Bush helped to fuel his arguments in his own head and forced the rest of the world to go with him - if you didn't go, your country was seen as a traitor. Funny since it was the US government that funded Hussein in the 1980's (and Bin Laden as well, come to think of it).

 

There is absolutely no question that Hussein had to go....but who are we to instill our values on people. Sure, "democracy" works for us - but why do we force it on others who may not want it?

[Jimbob1989 10]

Its a little sad, but we need oil. So much is made from oil, it doesn't only power our cars. Even medicines are often made from crude oil. So, if you was on your way out to work now and your car wouldn't start. Would you still think "oh well, I can't drive to work, but atleast we didn't invade iraq" and what if your kid got sick, would you think "my kid can't get the medicine it needs, but oh well, atleast we didn't invade iraq".

 

It might seem shallow, but we need oil. Oil is everything, it even makes a lot of the economy run.

[Phanerothyme 12]

Even medicines are often made from crude oil.

 

Er, which ones?

[4U2NV 10]

The US did invade Iraq for oil and using terrorism as the reason for war.

Senior members of the US administration have had dealings with Saddam so they got no excuse.

I think the US have got alot more problems facing them now with Iran as they have referred them to the security council, Iran has said it will hurt the USA.

IMO either by stopping oil which will push global crude oil prices sky high or by using shia freedom fighters in neighbouring Iraq to intensify attacks on american soldiers.

Thus risking the lives of british soldiers.

[venger 10]

So many topics now covered in this thread, it is almost impossible to find the time and energy to share an opinion on all.

 

Leftie do-gooder kinda stuck with me though lol.

 

This is not about a political persuasion but one of truth, morality, justice and integrity. (feel free to add more ...)

 

I hold fast to the Bush Administration conducting the attack on 9/11.

 

Also that the reasons used for attacking Afghanistan and Iraq were false.

 

If we cannot agree on those events then further discourse seems futile anyway, we are never going to agree.

 

For the record, I have a cousin who is a Captain and her husband is a Major serving in the British Army, I feel compassion for the boys and girls facing potentially avoidable risk.