Why do Dems continue to lick around the edges of OIL cause of Iraq War?

At best, most will indirectly refer to how oil distorts our policy in the Middle East as Kerry did in his recent energy speech, but they never explicitly and as a central theme of a speech spell out the evidence that Bush did this for his oil cronies.

At first, I could understand that reticence because I thought there might be a chance the war was about securing supplies as peak oil approached, an at least arguably defensible goal in the strategic interests of all Americans. But as China bought the tar sands in Canada and secured long term contracts in Iran, and we ourselves re-opened relations with Libya for their oil, it seemed like there were easier and cheaper ways to secure a steady supply of oil.

Then Greg Palast, the BBC reporter found through documents and interviews with insiders that the oil industry's concern was that once the sanctions came off, http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/2006/03/bbcs-greg-palast-iraq-war-to-cap-oil.html">Saddam would pump so much oil it would drive the price down. This seemed to be confirmed in one of the Downing Street Minutes when http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/2006/04/new-dsm-bush-told-putin-iraq-war.html">Bush sent reassurances to Putin that the invasion of Iraq would not increase Iraq's oil output and drive down the price.

In addition to this slightly complex argument, there is a simpler much more irrefutable one: Bush cancelled Saddam's oil contracts with Russia, France and others and gave them to American companies, and forced Iraq to restructure their oil laws to the specifications of our oil companies.

As Naomi Klein wrote in Harpers, that seems to be a bald-faced violation of the Geneva and Hague Conventions against looting a country you invade.

Economic war crimes in Geneva and Hague Conventions:

The Hague Convention of 1907 (IV) see articles 47, 53, 55
http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/195?OpenDocument

The Geneva Convention of 1949 (IV) we've broken almost every section of article 147, and Bush has personally broken article 148.
http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/380?OpenDocument


Since the strategic argument seems to be getting thinner and oil company cronyism at the expense of the American people is getting stronger (essentially we are paying for a war with our good reputation, tax dollars, and soldiers lives so we can pay MORE at the gas pump), why aren't Democrats talking about how oil figured into the decision to invade Iraq?

If you can think of some bold, direct statement that I have overlooked, please post excerpts and a link--I would like to be wrong on this.

Otherwise, just tell me why they are dancing around not a gorilla or even elephant in the room, but a god damn whale, spitting seaweed and saltwater on their faces while they say they just can't figure out why Bush invaded Iraq.

being a house of cards that could disastrously collapse without cheap oil...or maybe that's the wrong metaphor. Maybe we should go with the building a house on rock vs. sand thing. Even though "petro" means "rock", we've built our whole giant house on liquid, not even sand.

Oil companies wanted prices kept up, so they could get more profit for less work.

There is not strategic advantage for the average American. We are paying to be screwed.

How much of this do you all think was plotted out in his secret meetings with energy execs before the War?

Nice that Corporations have the power to decide PUBLIC POLICY IN PRIVATE, isn't it?

-85% Jimmy

And I'm pretty sure the oil companies have their filthy hooks in more than just the Republican party (although with Bush/Cheney we've really got the profiteers themselves at the controls, so it's a thousand times worse than it might be).

Also, I'm not totally convinced that in the long term, the goal is not also to have control over the oil fields when the production peak does start having serious effects on price. Short term profits, long term positioning.

Either way, there's a lot of denial. I get the feeling people avoid talking about this issue because it lays bare the rotting core of our society's infrastructure, no matter who is talking about it or in what context.

which party is in office...our economy is based on a wel-oiled war machine.

many states have petrochemical industries located in them? How many of those businesses send lobbyists to court said legislators?