2005-12-27 Oil and power

Ahmed's analysis of the war in Iraq contains at least a big part of the truth, and, for me, the essential part.
The war was/is all about control of Middle east oil, because Iraq possesses probably the world's biggest inexpensive and high quality oil reserves.
As Ahmed clearly explains, our technological civilization is totally dependent on oil and the actual oil reserves are now being depleted at a rate of about 2 per cent each year. Control of the oil price is a crucial problem for the West, if it wants to keep its actual living standard.

Saddam, in fact, began to act independently as an oil producer and even asked to be paid in Euros (see an important article in the English paper 'The Guardian' of February 26 2003). If this policy should be adopted by other oil producers, the US would not only lose control of the oil reserves, but even of the oil price.

Fundamentally however, Ahmed's analysis is based on respect of basic human aspirations: freedom, independence, human rights.

One could say that his analysis is naïve (or idealistic), and contrary to 'normal' human behaviour, which is search for power, dominance, unchallenged hegemony. The citations of George F. Kennan and Madeleine Albright in this book are most typical (or should I say, cynical) in that respect.
Ahmed's book is a magnified example of the deeds of an unchallenged political and military power. Of course, as he proves time and again, the international sanctions against Iraq were illegal. Of course, they were intended to the fall of Saddam and the installation of a pro-Western government.
And unfortunately, nobody who wields total power (one needs another analysis why some nations got it and others not) has not exploited it in his own interest or lost it without a struggle (see the masterful analysis of power by Laura Betzig).

As a matter of fact, Ahmed himself stops short of giving an opinion on the Iranian situation during and after the reign of the by the author much admired Ayatollah Khomeini, who installed an Islamic shiite oligarchy in Iran.

Respect of human rights on the international level can only be imposed by supranational authorities (the UN, an international court). But if these authorities try to take measures against 'vital' interests of one of its members and if that member has enough power, it will neglect all the resolutions and even completely disregard them. Even if it knows that its behaviour equals or installs the 'law of the jungle'.
It is crucial for world peace that the UN should wield international power and be able to impose sanctions.

But there is another alarming and frightening aspect of the war in Iraq: freedom of speech was curbed in order to hide the truth.
If the author is correct that US troops fired deliberately at journalists whom they considered not loyal to their cause, then this is the same as the barbarous demolition of the library of Pergamon.

This book is a compelling, provocative and must read.