Dont mind that Alchemy, i like to read your posts, even if i dont agree with them
.
>The fact that idiots flock to a particular opinion does not
>make that opinion wrong, nor does it make the
>intelligent folk holding that opinion less intelligent.
Totally agree. However destroying "stuff" with something like a riot is hardly the best way. Its like breaking an egg with a mallet.
>it seems here that most people hope that this action,
>now begun, will be completed quickly with minimal
>Iraqui and American casualties, which is a hope I hold
>as well
I have confidence that it will. The Iraqian army is nowhere near what it was 12 years ago, and well, we know how that ended up.
Oil thingy:
Personally i'm convinced it's a win win situation. Look good with the military and get the "mean dictator" out, "free" the people, and get a nice access to a very large oil reserve. Having already kuwait in the pocked just hadded the cherry on top. Both of them together make up for 20% of the world's reserve. Wich is not too shabby.
Venezuela has two problems. One, they followed the IMF (international monetary fund, i think it's like this) who , well... suck. Their main agenda is control over companies and resources, but they say "its helping others, they come to us, not we to them". See how venezuela is, or even several african countrys, or even ethiopia is doing. They followed the IMF and they're at the worse they could get. Specially Ethiopia.
This resulted in the IMF telling them , instead of balancing the costs and income, in cutting the deficit, that is, cutting the expenses, and in the end, selling almost all the public companies, and making some large loans, from very eager international banks. Those public companies are sold to... rich international companies... who's CEO's , along with the international bank owners make up the IMF board. Interesting isnt it? Unfortunatly true. It's like a legalized mafia. Unfortunatly most of the countrys that go to the IMF dont have much of a choise, or get money fast, or the govermnet crumbles for the lack of resources.
Most of third world countrys "ask" the IMF for advice due to "ease" those countrys doing what the IMF tells them have in getting large bank loans, essencial to the development of the countrys. But there's always a catch.
Problem two, they have alot of oil. So, because they need to get out of this financial crisis, they are willing to part from with pennys. You dont have to "go military" when you got them with their pants down. They're controlable like this. Besides, they love the US and the US's money
. They'd probably be interested in american (and other) companies investing in the country. And reaching a compromize.
Besides, they have nothing to go on venezuela. North Korea has WMD, Iraq has saddam, Iran always supported attacks againts several countrys... etc. Well, if you think of it, you can say they're a bunch of drug lords. Damn, wait, thats Colombia...
Last but not least, the US are not interested in spending their reserve. It's like money in the bank that they are not willing to part. Keeping a steady level of oil favours the economy and it can be used for a future event. I can understand that.