tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post113935311280217054..comments2023-10-29T06:41:23.910-07:00Comments on Halfway There: War is moneyZenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-1139462692572230812006-02-08T21:24:00.000-08:002006-02-08T21:24:00.000-08:00I have no doubt that oil is a major factor for the...I have no doubt that oil is a major factor for the war in Iraq as far as the president's inner circle is concerned, so I concede that point about the "brains" of the Bush administration. Oil might even be a major concern of George W. Bush's own. But the president's go-it-alone bully-boy approach to politics is a dramatic contrast to the coalition-building his father practiced. It may just be pop psychology, but I think George W. Bush delights in the knowledge that <I>he</I> took out Saddam Hussein while his Daddy didn't. His advisors probably don't care too much about what actually motivates the president, as long as the end result is what they were hoping for.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the comment and the useful book reference.Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-1139448336968909672006-02-08T17:25:00.000-08:002006-02-08T17:25:00.000-08:00Very interesting to hear the perspective from some...Very interesting to hear the perspective from someone on the ground.<BR/><BR/>But I think you're off target when you write:<BR/><BR/><I>Our soldiers were sacrificed to settle George W. Bush's grudge against Saddam Hussein and to permit the president to portray himself as a greater warrior than his father, who permitted Saddam to remain in power after the first Gulf War.</I><BR/><BR/>To what extent George W. Bush's grudge against Saddam was a motivating factor for him is not something I can judge. But I don't think the brains behind the Bush administration were primarily motivated by a grudge. "It's the crude, dude!" to borrow the title of <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385660111/sr=1-1/qid=1139448034/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-7702648-1523865?%5Fencoding=UTF8" REL="nofollow">a recent book</A> by Canadian writer Linda McQuaig. Iraq is a geopolitical prize because it sits on the world's second-largest proven oil reserve.Nick Barrowmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11224940659269649220noreply@blogger.com