beef, we have always had venezuela and texas and louisiana and a closer relationship with the House of Saud than most OECD countries, so we pay a bit less for gasoline. But it's hard to ignore the Vice President's and the President's business connections to the refining and petrochemical businesses. I don't know whether it's a kneejerk overestimation, or an idealistic underestimation. But I have to assume that, hostile or not, a hundred and twenty thousand US troops in the fertile crescent is better on my gasoline budget than a hundred and twenty thousand Iraqi troops. but I'm generally a consumer, not a capitalist. If I were a petrocapitalist, I think it still stands to reason that I'd rather my boys, not saddam's, not chirac's, not vladimir's, guard the ports and the wells, wouldn't you?
War is poor business. Look what is oil price now. Look what is economical, political and human cost of war.
It is begining to seem clear, that war was mistake. Right time of this war was in 1991. But now you are there and you should keep your forces there. Withdrawing is NO solution.
It's ironic that finally this war will benefit most the people of Iraq (or at least I want to believe that) not people of USA. I accepted this war, because I couldn't see peaceful overthrowing of Saddam regime. There was two alternatives: the foreign intervention or the civil war.