[Marxism] awful Counterpunch column today

["Andrew Pollack" <acpollack2@xxxxxxxxx>]

The lead article at counterpunch.com today -- "Shell Games: Are They Really
Oil Wars?" by Ismael Hossein-Zadeh, reflects the line of those who are
obsessed with the Israel lobby and therefore insist that oil is not the main
reason for war in Iraq or the U.S.'s Middle East policy more generally.
Well, yes, oil is not the MAIN reason (even leaving aside the recent no-bid
contracts given to Western oil companies). Nor was any particular resource
or industry key to Washington's genocidal wars in Korea, Vietnam or Central
America. Even multi-industry free trade pacts signed since then in all these
areas -- and in the Middle East -- while involving the direct interests of
significant segments of US capital, are not the MAIN reason.
The MAIN reason is Washington's need to be ABLE, when, how and where it
wants, to invest, without regard to the wishes of its imperialist
competitors or neocolonial regimes or the workers and peasants in the
targeted country.
During the first Gulf War several radical analysts pointed out that
Washington didn't care as much about Iraqi or Kuwaiti oil for itself as it
did about the ability to be able to deny or set terms for access to that oil
on the part of its competitors (England, Germany, etc.). That sort of desire
for indirect influence and control is what I'm talking about.
Andy P.
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