BoatBanter.com - It's so...uplifting...

On 8/21/2014 8:25 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 21 Aug 2014 16:15:04 -0500, Boating All Out
wrote:

In article ,
says...

That's an undoubtedly bad reading of U.S. policy.

How do you think that is wrong?
It certainly is not oil.
We would buy the oil from whomever controls the region.

Really? Buy oil from ISIS? You're kidding.

We buy oil from Chavez and most of the western world was buying oil
from Saddam in spite of our embargo. The shieks are pretty scummy guys
and we don't seem to care what is happening in Nigeria.

Why not?

You only have to look at the other places with evil things going where
we have no problem buying oil to see that. Oil companies and dictators
get along just fine.

Without the Israel problem, we would just pull out the military and
let the big dog eat.

How does that address Iran seeking nukes?

If we had not given Israel nukes, they would not feel the need to have
them.

AYFKM? Their clearly stated motive is to "wipe Israel off the face of
the earth"... They know damn well the west would never let Israel use
them as a first strike force, you know it, Israel knows it, Iran knows
it but it. Israel is not looking to "wipe" anyone off the face of the
earth, that's why so much of their weaponry is defensive....

This is a good enough policy statement.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2...ast_strategy_b
ack_to_balancing
"So what are U.S. interests in the Middle East? I'd say the United
States has three strategic interests and two moral interests. The three
strategic interests are 1) keeping oil and gas from the region flowing
to world markets, to keep the global economy humming;

Oil always finds a way to market, even when we try to stop it.

2) minimizing the danger of anti-American terrorism

If we were not there, they would not have much incentive to come here.
The major beef from Bin Laden was US troops in Saudi Arabia.

3) inhibiting the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Since they mostly came from the west, that is not that much of an
issue.

The two moral interests are 1) promotion of
human rights and participatory government,

One "moral" interest and we obviously don't have that much moral
objection in the rest of the world. Again, I simply have to point to
Africa,.

2) helping ensure Israel's survival.

That is purely a political interest, there is not much "moral" in that
objective.