Gen. Abizaid on Iraq War: "Of Course It's All About Oil"

Posted by GottaLaff at 4:57 AM on October 16, 2007.

This post, written by GottaLaff, originally appeared on Cliff Schecter's Brave New Films Blog

At a Stanford University discussion, Gen. John Abizaid (Ret.), the former CENTCOM Commander, said what we all know:

"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."

Wait, but...no, Bush says...and Cheney...and then they...see, 'cause BushCo swears that the war in Iraq has nothing to do with oil. He did double swearsies!

Alan Greenspan said a little something about this, too, as I recall. He said that "the Iraq War is largely about oil." Wow, they are coming out of the woodwork, are they not?

Though Abizaid says that Bush's Iraq policy seeks to keep oil "prices low," the per-barrel cost of oil has risen dramatically since the U.S. first invaded. In March 2003, the price of oil was roughly US$35 a barrel. Today, prices reached "above $85 a barrel for the first time."

I really have to get a Prius.

H/t: Think Progress

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Tagged as: oil, iraq war, bush administration, abizaid

GottaLaff is a regular blogger for Cliff Schecter's Blog