It’s all about oil! Oh, really?

Saturday, 8 March 2003, 14:26

Nothing infuriates me more than those who agree with me that the coming war in Iraq is unjustified, but can only resort to worn platitudes and half-baked theories in arguing against it. It makes us doves look bad. None is worse than the refrain that “it’s all about oil.” OK, but how exactly? Brendan O’Neill takes on this “crude argument” in Spiked. No doubt, oil obviously is an issue at some level; but a little precision is called for. Michael Kinsley is my sort of skeptical dove. As Kinsley writes in Slate, “it is hard to dismiss the official reasons for this war as disingenuous without some theory about what the ulterior motive or unspoken war aim might be.” His theory of ulterior motives is no stronger than the rest, but his thinking is a good start. The counter-arguments are good, too.

Entry Filed under: Miscellanea