|
Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2003 5:28 AM
Subject: [anarchy_africa] Iraq - is the conflict essentially about
oil? What do folks here think about the counter-argument to the thesis that the coming war with Iraq is essentially about oil. We in the World in Common group are putting together a leaflet on the subject so I would be intrerested in any reponses. Hamish McRae put forward this counter-argument in the Independent on Sunday (19 January). According to him, in the short term what happens to Iraq's oil is not very important. Yes, it has the second largest reserves of oil after Saudi Arabia but actually produces relatively little - somewhat less than the UK's output. Not only that, as oil supplies become tighter in the long term , the developed economies are likely to increasingly turn to natural gas - which is where Russia with its huge reserves of natural gas is likely to become an even more important player in the energy field than Saudi Arabia. Other counter-arguments against the war-over-oil thesis is that it overlooks the potentially enormous cost implications of a war which could push the world into a global recession - not to mention the possible wholesale destruction of much of the oil industry in Iraq. Hence, an unduly "economistic" argument that war is in the interest of western capitalists does not hold much water. It is also argued that Western economies are more concerned about the availability of oil upon which they are so dependent; western firms taking over oil production in Iraq is not an economic neccesity providing the flow of oil in the right direction - and at the right price - can be ensured I would be grateful for any comments on this matter Regards Robin World in Common group FORUM:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/worldincommon/ WEBSITE (temporary):http://www.angelfire.com/folk/wic/
------ From the African anarchism list to send a message email [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://struggle.ws/africa.html Find out about others on the list and add your info in the polls and bookmarks sections http://groups.yahoo.com/group/anarchy_africa Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. |
