McLovin wrote:
rushtallica wrote:
Hoddy wrote:How big is Australia's military?
As soon as I saw the title, I immediately started to wonder what problem the US could invent to make Australia seem like a horrible enemy that deserves to be plundered.
Yeah, cuz we took all Iraq's oil. and Afghanistan's. and Libya's. And Bosnia's. And Viet Nam's. and Korea's. and Germany's. and Japan's....
It wasn't necessarily oil that stimulated all of the U.S. interventions. Natural resources certainly wasn't the motive for occupying a resource-poor country like Japan, for instance.
Originally Posted by Noam Chomsky
Mickaroony wrote:
Hoddy wrote:
rushtallica wrote:
Hoddy wrote:How big is Australia's military?
As soon as I saw the title, I immediately started to wonder what problem the US could invent to make Australia seem like a horrible enemy that deserves to be plundered.
They kill kangaroos for the hell of it...that's reason enough for me!!!
Link?
McLovin wrote:
rushtallica wrote:
Hoddy wrote:How big is Australia's military?
As soon as I saw the title, I immediately started to wonder what problem the US could invent to make Australia seem like a horrible enemy that deserves to be plundered.
Yeah, cuz we took all Iraq's oil. and Afghanistan's. and Libya's. And Bosnia's. And Viet Nam's. and Korea's. and Germany's. and Japan's....
That kind of argument probably works well with those who agree with you, anyway. 
Regarding Iraq, protecting oil interests had quite a lot to do with going to war. Having control over those interests doesn't necessarily include owning or taking the oil. There's much more to it than that.
"ExxonMobil and other oil companies have been among the few real beneficiaries of the (Iraq) war, as their profits and share prices have soared. Meanwhile, the economy as a whole has paid a high price."ExxonMobil has accumulated $163 billion in record profits in the five-year war period, not only because of the increase in oil prices but because of increased sales of petroleum products to the Pentagon, which amounted to $4.2 billion from 2003 to 2007. Shell and BP compete with ExxonMobil for leadership in Pentagon sales.
ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, the so-called Big Five oil producers, have benefited far more than their smaller American competitors during the war years. A study from the James W. Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University reported in 2007 that the profits of the Big Five in 2006, combined, amounted to $120 billion compared to $31 billion for the next 20 largest American oil firms, combined.
The Rice report shows that as cash flow for the oil companies skyrocketed with the Iraqi invasion and the rise in world oil prices, the Big Five used the increased income not so much for development, exploration, acquisitions or increased dividends as for buying back stock, increasing the wealth of management and large shareholders.
Excess war profits taxes are warranted now for the reasons they were imposed during previous wars, in the interest of decency and to capture revenue needed to respond to the demands associated with war. (Part II will outline specific excess war-profit tax proposals.)
http://archive.truthout.org/article/time-iraq-war-
Regarding Libya and oil, from an article in 2005, it would seem there would be a motive for our corporate leadership keeping a keen eye on events taking place in the country:
US oil companies have been awarded most of the contracts on offer at the first open licence auction in Libya.
Companies like Occidental and Chevron Texaco will return to Libya for the first time in more than 20 years.
European oil and gas companies were not awarded any of the licences to explore 127,000 sq km (51,000 sq miles).
Libya - which has Africa's largest oil reserves - is seeking massive foreign investment now that sanctions against Tripoli have been lifted.
Libya produces 1.6m barrels per day at present, but hopes to raise this to 2.1m bpd by the end of the decade.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4219623.stm
Regarding Afghanistan, poppy fields are where the money is at.
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