Requires a password. It’s a free signup. What I don’t understand is why so many people think we’re going to war because of the oil. This op-ed piece in the NY Times shows that falacy of that argument.

Why don’t people understand the freedom is good, and its worth fighting for on its own merrits (even if its for somebody else).

Although Americans are divided on the wisdom of an invasion, only 22 percent of us subscribe to the cynical view that it’s just about oil. Even Jimmy Carter, hardly a hawk, rebutted the accusation at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony: “I know my country, I know my people, and I can assure you that’s not the policy of my government.”

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The charge [the we’re after the oil] has a surface plausibility because Iraq does have the second-largest known reserves in the world. But we certainly don’t need to send 250,000 soldiers to get at it. Saddam Hussein would gladly sell us all the oil we wanted. The only thing preventing unlimited sales are the United States-enforced sanctions, which Baghdad (and the big oil companies) would love to see lifted. Washington has refused to go along because Saddam Hussein flouts United Nations resolutions. This suggests that our primary focus is the threat he poses, not the oil he possesses.

That’s right. Count me in with that group.

And here’s the most important line in the entire article:

After more than 200 years, Europe still hasn’t figured out what makes America tick.

Ain’t that the truth! They see everything we do in terms of our arrogance. They think we do things like this just to flex our muscles and show the world how powerful we are. How wrong they are!!!!