I've been thinking about what's happened, and it's really starting to look as if this is the way it went down:
[*]Bush gets into office
[*]Cheney, on behalf of Haliburton, starts persuading Bush that dependancy on Saudi oil is intolerable. Possibly suggests Iraq as a substitute, based on the sanctions from the Gulf War having crippled its military capacity, and totaly removed their air capability.
[*]Bush, being a child of big oil himself, buys into it.
[*]Before anyone can figure out exactly how to rally support for a second Gulf War, an al-Qaeda plot--a decade in the making--drops it right into their lap.
[*]Using the event as an all-access pass, all sorts of things go down under the table (mostly political self-preservation stuff and a couple over-reactions).
[*]Congressional authorization to move troops into Afghanistan, in order to neutralize the terrorist training camps (that the CIA had uncovered in their monitoring of Osama bin Laden during the 90's).
[*]Terrorists prove harder to find than originally thought, forcing a segue to the Iraq operation prematurely to make up for the lack of good news from the front.
[*]Without having time to fabricate a link between Iraq (the sociopolitical entity) and terrorism, the case is weak, and fails to compel enough people outside US borders.
[*]Multiple angles are tried, eventually resulting in mud slinging and trade disputes.
[*]Congressional authorization to move troops into Iraq to liberate the people from their dictator, and install a democratic government (those being the final arguments presented to rally support).
[*]Iraqi defense capability extremely over-estimated, soldiers desert regime falls within a month.
[*]Reparation contracts given almost exclusively to American companies, even the British get shafted. (This is actually illegal. Such contracts are to be given to local companies)
[*]Haliburton gets oil rights (and subsequently gouges US government)
If that is truly the case, then it was about oil, but not in the sense most people think. Big corporations act independantly of the government, but their actions are still considered to have been made by that government. Especially in America's case. Granted, a republican administration isn't going to stand in the way of big business, but that still only makes them an accessory.
::PostScript::
If they had played their cards right, 9/11 would have only been used to beef up security, and potentially for cleaner, more professional Afghanistan operation. They would have looked responsible (ie. the opposite of what their main political opponents portray them as), and would have been given the Sudan crisis in perfect election timing. OIF would have been an ace in the hole, in case something didn't happen on its own first. Sudani oil would have equally reduced Saudi dependance, and the whole world would be a whole lot more willing to jump on board the coalition. But hey, hindsight is 20/20.
[*]Bush gets into office
[*]Cheney, on behalf of Haliburton, starts persuading Bush that dependancy on Saudi oil is intolerable. Possibly suggests Iraq as a substitute, based on the sanctions from the Gulf War having crippled its military capacity, and totaly removed their air capability.
[*]Bush, being a child of big oil himself, buys into it.
[*]Before anyone can figure out exactly how to rally support for a second Gulf War, an al-Qaeda plot--a decade in the making--drops it right into their lap.
[*]Using the event as an all-access pass, all sorts of things go down under the table (mostly political self-preservation stuff and a couple over-reactions).
[*]Congressional authorization to move troops into Afghanistan, in order to neutralize the terrorist training camps (that the CIA had uncovered in their monitoring of Osama bin Laden during the 90's).
[*]Terrorists prove harder to find than originally thought, forcing a segue to the Iraq operation prematurely to make up for the lack of good news from the front.
[*]Without having time to fabricate a link between Iraq (the sociopolitical entity) and terrorism, the case is weak, and fails to compel enough people outside US borders.
[*]Multiple angles are tried, eventually resulting in mud slinging and trade disputes.
[*]Congressional authorization to move troops into Iraq to liberate the people from their dictator, and install a democratic government (those being the final arguments presented to rally support).
[*]Iraqi defense capability extremely over-estimated, soldiers desert regime falls within a month.
[*]Reparation contracts given almost exclusively to American companies, even the British get shafted. (This is actually illegal. Such contracts are to be given to local companies)
[*]Haliburton gets oil rights (and subsequently gouges US government)
If that is truly the case, then it was about oil, but not in the sense most people think. Big corporations act independantly of the government, but their actions are still considered to have been made by that government. Especially in America's case. Granted, a republican administration isn't going to stand in the way of big business, but that still only makes them an accessory.
::PostScript::
If they had played their cards right, 9/11 would have only been used to beef up security, and potentially for cleaner, more professional Afghanistan operation. They would have looked responsible (ie. the opposite of what their main political opponents portray them as), and would have been given the Sudan crisis in perfect election timing. OIF would have been an ace in the hole, in case something didn't happen on its own first. Sudani oil would have equally reduced Saudi dependance, and the whole world would be a whole lot more willing to jump on board the coalition. But hey, hindsight is 20/20.