It's the OIL, Stupid!

An Ideal In Need Of Rescue By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Friday, December 8, 2006; Page A39

One of the many disastrous consequences of President Bush's botched policy in Iraq is that it has given the promotion of democracy a bad name.

If the report of the Iraq Study Group is nothing else, it is a devastating declaration that the administration's approach is an abject failure and that the United States needs to scale back its goals.
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See here for the complete text.
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In my opinion, Dionne missed the point here.
After much fine-sounding rhetoric about failed plans and the loss of ideals he reaches the real issue half-way down the page: oil.
Then, he returns to the ideals issue as if nothing had happened.

The POINTS of the Iraqi exercise, imnsho, were:
1] oil
2] to look as if we’re exporting Democracy when, in reality, we’re setting up yet another puppet to do the US’ bidding— especially when it comes to managing all that oil.

And, again in my opinion, Democracy is not something you can export at the point of a gun—no matter how hard you may try.
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And see:
The Coming of Gulf War III
Even If We Leave Now, We'll Be Back -- By David Rothkopf
Sunday, December 10, 2006; Page B01