Why does the US want war with Iraq?

By Adam Ritscher, Organizer for Hotel and Restaurant Employees Local 99, Duluth, MN

"The U.S. administration is on an all out campaign to whip up support for another war on Iraq. The deafening boom of the war drums sounding from Washington has many wondering why the sudden need to go after Saddam Hussein?

Initially when Washington began talking about war with Iraq, the stated reason was that there was a possible connection between the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Saddam Hussein regime. After being told by its European allies that there was no proof of this, and in fact quite a lot to the contrary, the Bush administration shifted gears and began claiming that Iraq was again in possession of "weapons of mass destruction" and in fact may be only a few months away from acquiring nuclear weapons. According to the White House, an Iraq armed with such weapons was an intolerable idea, and it was prepared to attack Iraq, with or without support from the United Nations or other countries, to remove this threat.

Many have asked though how can a devastated country under blockade develop such weapons, especially when UN weapons inspectors have stated they sincerely doubt Iraq has such weapons, or the continued capacity to produce them.

Bush has also claimed that Iraq's record on humanitarian rights is so horrendous that the regime in Baghdad has to be replaced for the sake of the Iraqi people. In particular Bush likes to point out that Saddam gassed his own people. Saddam did indeed use poison gas on the Kurdish people of northern Iraq, but this was during the late 1980s, while Iraq was still an ally of the U.S.—and at the time Washington seemed to care very little about the plight of the Kurds. Why this change in sympathies? Yes, Iraq does have a horrendous human rights record, but so do countless other dictatorships around the world, many close allies of the United States (Turkey, for example, which is the base for a portion of the U.S. military forces arrayed against Iraq, has been far more aggressive in trying to exterminate Kurds than Iraq!).

What really is the motivation for Washington's war drive? Some have suggested it's for the sake of Bush's ratings and the upcoming elections. Others have stated it's for the sake of controlling Middle East oil.

We don't put it past the White House to engage in war for the sake of re-election, but we believe the Stakes are much higher than whether the Democrats or Republicans will sit in the White House (as if it makes a difference!). We believe that oil is certainly a key factor in this—but it's goes farther than the profitability of big oil.

The U.S. has clearly demonstrated that since the fall of the USSR it has military superiority over any other nation. The recent wars with Afghanistan and Yugoslavia certainly demonstrate that, not to mention the 1991 Gulf War. This is a great advantage to U.S. businesses. However, this advantage has only partially made up for the higher profitability and compositeness that Western European and Japanese corporations have held over their U.S. counterparts.

The U.S. only receives 11% of its oil from the Middle East. Japan and many European countries however depend on it for as much as 30-50%. A U.S. war with Iraq would result in a new pro-U.S. regime in Baghdad that would be sitting on top of the second largest oil reserves in the world—oil reserves that U.S. corporations have been cut off from for decades (Iraqi oil is currently state owned). Not only would it then have access to this oil, but it would represent a complete outmaneuvering of French and other European nations who have major oil and other financial arrangements currently with Iraq.

In a sense, this is a war whose real target is as much America's competitors in Europe and Asia as it is with Saddam Hussein. Washington sees a unique opportunity: a hated regime sitting on top of tons of oil that its competitors need, sympathy coming from 911, no USSR to hold it back, and it has a military far superior to any other.

Washington has not suddenly developed a sincere concern about the plight of Iraq's Kurds or the fact that Iraq is not a democracy. Nor does Iraq pose a threat to U.S. security (if you want to look at nation's with weapons of mass destruction Bush should look in the mirror, and at the list of his allies!). This is war being fought for economic interests. The U.S. is seeking to gain advantage over its competitors by controlling Middle East oil. With the world economy suffering from shock after shock, with living standards falling, the stock market bubbling rapidly deflating, and debt skyrocketing, this is the type of maneuvering that we are bound to see even more of from the major imperialist nations.

Unfortunately, these maneuvers will not only result in the blatant violation of poorer nations sovereignty and right to self- determination, but also in the death & misery of the downtrodden who inevitably end up the victims of war's bombs and bullets. We need to oppose this threatened war with Iraq with all we can muster. We must expose Washington's real aims and demand 'Hands Off Iraq!' and 'No Blood 4 Oil!'"

www.oocities.org/northsaw