According to todays's Globe and Mail, Iraqi oil reserves have been MASSIVELY understated. Since Hussein nationalized the nation's oil, there has been almost no new exploration or development. The oil is apparently so accessible eve Jed Clampett could find it, and there's a LOT of it. and it's not stuck in Tar sands. The Gulf war and sanctions had weakened Saddam to the point where he was ready to sign deals with the French and the Russians. The Americans saw an opportunity to take the whole thing basically for free by linking Saddam to weapons of mass destruction and September 11.
The US knew they were in the driver's seat. The US attitude to the UN was deliberately belligerent, in order to force the UN into a position it could not support, allowing the US to go in on it's own and claim the spoils.
The Iraqi oil will be de-nationalized and given to large US oil companies. Cheap oil will prop up the big 3 US automakers, damage Soviet economic recovery, smash OPEC and put Europe and Japan in a stanglehold. Britain will presumably get some favorable treatment so it's oil industry is protected. Clean air laws in the US will be totally bypassed as huge SUVs flood the market, drilling gets a green light in Alaska and Kyoto is as dead as a dodo.
Mexico and Canada, large oil producers themselves, who did not support the US, will get totally screwed.
The US economy will get a huge boost, based on cheap oil prices. The stock markets have been punishing oil and gold stocks - get out now. The US dollar will strengthen. Republicans will sweep the 2004 elections. There will acts of terrorism against Americans
abroad. The US public will still not understand why they aren't treated as liberators, and will support restrictive trade practices
in a me-first mood. Cheap gas will make Americans happy and
they will cocoon themselves forget the outside world. everyonabu.
They still won't have health care or clean air but they will have more "prosperity".
A high US dollar will keep imports cheap. The US dollar will trump gold, regardless of deficits, as the rest of the world economy will be bogged down, as the US tightens it's borders.
Osama and Saddam will be found and disposed of by the CIA with little fanfare. Osama was a stooge of the US government, after all.
Welcome to Pax Americana. Hope you like it
The US knew they were in the driver's seat. The US attitude to the UN was deliberately belligerent, in order to force the UN into a position it could not support, allowing the US to go in on it's own and claim the spoils.
The Iraqi oil will be de-nationalized and given to large US oil companies. Cheap oil will prop up the big 3 US automakers, damage Soviet economic recovery, smash OPEC and put Europe and Japan in a stanglehold. Britain will presumably get some favorable treatment so it's oil industry is protected. Clean air laws in the US will be totally bypassed as huge SUVs flood the market, drilling gets a green light in Alaska and Kyoto is as dead as a dodo.
Mexico and Canada, large oil producers themselves, who did not support the US, will get totally screwed.
The US economy will get a huge boost, based on cheap oil prices. The stock markets have been punishing oil and gold stocks - get out now. The US dollar will strengthen. Republicans will sweep the 2004 elections. There will acts of terrorism against Americans
abroad. The US public will still not understand why they aren't treated as liberators, and will support restrictive trade practices
in a me-first mood. Cheap gas will make Americans happy and
they will cocoon themselves forget the outside world. everyonabu.
They still won't have health care or clean air but they will have more "prosperity".
A high US dollar will keep imports cheap. The US dollar will trump gold, regardless of deficits, as the rest of the world economy will be bogged down, as the US tightens it's borders.
Osama and Saddam will be found and disposed of by the CIA with little fanfare. Osama was a stooge of the US government, after all.
Welcome to Pax Americana. Hope you like it
