Mother Jones
March 1, 2003
The Thirty-Year Itch
Three decades ago, in the
throes of the energy crisis, Washington's hawks conceived of a
strategy for US control of the Persian Gulf's oil. Now, with the
same strategists firmly in control of the White House, the Bush
administration is playing out their script for global
dominance.
by Robert Dreyfuss
. . . In the geopolitical vision driving current U.S. policy toward Iraq,
the key to national security is global hegemony -- dominance over
any and all potential rivals. To that end, the United States must
not only be able to project its military forces anywhere, at any
time. It must also control key resources, chief among them oil --
and especially Gulf oil. To the hawks who now set the tone at the
White House and the Pentagon, the region is crucial not simply for
its share of the U.S. oil supply (other sources have become more
important over the years), but because it would allow the United
States to maintain a lock on the world's energy lifeline and
potentially deny access to its global competitors. . . .
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