[Errigal]

Saying "the Iraq war is largely about oil" gives only part of the explanation. Rather than the Iraq war being a grab for oil in the style of pirates capturing buried treasure, the Americans want to control the whole oil producing region of the Middle East by transforming it politically. By putting a friendly government in Iraq the Americans would then have a base to transform Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia and bring their military and petroleum policies under American guidance (It is worth noticing that Syria was talked about a few years ago as the next US target even though Syria's oil reserves are minimal).

By bringing the Arab and Persian states under American dominance the US would be able to maintain a predominant position over Europe, Japan and China because of their dependence on oil imports and be able to secure Israel against serious external threats.