----- Original Message ----- From: Linda Morgan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 7:37 PM Subject: [iac-disc.] fwd:Noam Chomsky on Iraq Hi Everyone, The below email was sent by Dale Hildebrand of the Inter-Church Action. Thanks Dale. So, I thought I would take this moment, and tell you about a terrific book that I am reading that ties right in with what Noam Chomsky has to say. It is called "Canada's Oil and the American Empire", by Ed Shaffer Ph.D. (Hurtig Publishers, Edmonton 1983). It is a real eye-opener on how the American foreign policy is controlled by the oil companies, and how these oil companies have top priority overseas up to and including the over throw of foreign governments if they are not compliant with the oil companies needs. Ed Shaffer shows how the economic power of the U.S. since WWII has largely built on the control of the world's oil. In Solidarity, Linda **************************************************************************** ********* On Sunday night I had the opportunity to attend a question and answer session with Noam Chomsky at the University of Toronto. The session was on Palestine, Iraq and Kosovo. I thought I would share a few brief thoughts of Chomsky's on Iraq which were interesting: * the reason that the US has recently eased pressure on Iraqi oil production (irrespective of compliance with UN conditions) has everything to do with the price of oil. There is a range within which the US likes to keep oil prices: when they get too low, its bad for US oil companies; when they get too high it is bad for the US economy as a whole. As prices have reached dramatically high prices in the last six months, it became necessary to allow more Iraqi oil on the market. In this sense, it was not pressure from humanitarian concerns that changed the US mind on this, it was simply controlling the price of oil. Chomsky quoted a powerful oil executive in the US who said that once oil reaches $40 a barrell, " Saddam Hussein will become Mother Theresa". * Chomsky also presented a rather chilling hypothesis about the reason for the sanctions. He said from the perspective of US oil companies (who exert a powerful influence on US government), it is preferable to have a Saudi Arabia to an Iraq. Meaning it is better to have a relatively unpopulated oil exporting country so that a larger majority of the profits can be siphoned off by foreign investors. Iraq, until the late 80s, had one of the highest standards of living in the Middle East, largely as a result of domestic investments from its oil industry. This meant far less profits for any foreign investors. The answer?: Destroy Iraqi society. * On the question of delinking military and economic sanctions, Chomsky answered somewhat tongue-in-cheek, saying he was all for military sanctions--starting with the country that has done more damage with its military weapons than any other: the U.S. Dale Hildebrand, Phone: (416) 461-3634 Inter-Church Action Fax: (416) 463-5569 Visit ICA's internet site: www.web.net/~icact/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remember four years of good friends, bad clothes, explosive chemistry experiments. http://click.egroups.com/1/4051/5/_/790251/_/960403169/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------- *** Iraq Action Coalition Discussion Forum *** http://iraqaction.org/discussion.html ------------------------------------ *To Post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *To Subscribe, send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * To see the List Guidelines, go to: http://iraqaction.org/discussion.html *Any questions, contact the List Moderator at [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----------------------------------------------
