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Date: 10-Feb-03 @ 06:39 PM -
iraqi oil
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came across this:
"At present, oil companies from France, Russia, and China have contracts to help develop Iraqi oil fields. Europe depends far more upon oil from Iraq than America (only a tiny fraction of U.S. oil comes from Iraq, about six percent). Oil from Iraq, indeed oil from the entire Middle East, ranks higher among European national interests than American. For some years, the United States has been moving to draw the preponderance of its oil from our own hemisphere, mostly from Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela, and to cut back steadily on its use of Middle Eastern oil, to the level now of 26 percent of its annual. Europe is far more dependent on Iraqi oil, and far more involved with the Iraqi oil industry. I believe the U.S. should form a consortium of nations currently under contract to develop Iraq's oil fields, prominently including Italy, France, Russia, and China."
from http://www.nationalreview.com/novak/novak021003.asp
and my reason for posting it is to ask, if oil were not a factor, what would people say it would be?
its easy to say the US "wants the oil" but if we only get 6% from iraq and only 25% from the mideast in general it seems europe has a much larger interest in iraqi oil than the usa...
i am not trying to sway anyone one way or the other, just curious as to what the "2nd" reason would be...
should this be in the "bush is a *****" thread? :-)
jamey