America's Oil Wars

by Stephen C. Pelletiere

Why has the United States become involved in so many wars in the Middle East, and why just now? What explains the extraordinary disconnect between pre-war statements by the Bush Administration and the post-war reality? How much of U.S. intelligence was wrong, and why? Why did the Bush Administration ignore warnings by senior military commanders about the difficulties they would confront in trying to occupy Iraq? Why was there virtually no pre-war planning for administering Iraq once the war was successfully concluded? Pelletiere argues that, in going to war twice against Iraq and once against Afghanistan, the United States was seeking to put a lock on its future energy supplies. In neglecting diplomacy for so long in dealing with the Gulf States, Washington was practically compelled to use force to get what it wanted.



Pelletiere explores the context of events that produced the attacks of September 11, 2001, the pretext for the United States' military move into the region. He debunks the Bush Administration's claim that the United States was beset by Islamic terrorists bent on destroying western civilization and set the stage for an examination of other possible motives. Next, he details the history of U.S. involvement in the region, beginning with the discovery of oil and the pioneering efforts of American and British companies to open the region to exploration. After the OPEC Revolution, he argues, the United States would allow itself to be drawn into an arms-supplying relationship with the Shah of Iran and the military-industrial complex would become hooked on subsidies from the Gulf monarchs. Finally, after discussing the First Gulf War and recent events in Afghanistan, Pelletiere contends that these conflicts and the current war in Iraq are really part of a greater struggle between North and South, a struggle that will have significant consequences for the future of the United States.

Genres: History, Politics

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Abe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, the first chapter is kind of interesting but pretty irrelevant to the rest of the book. There is a little bit of overcorrection in response to the warmongering against Iraq. It seems unlikely we would’ve ever been allies with Saddam this book definitely gives 1940s CIA Arabist vibes. Doesn’t talk enough about the 2003 invasion and doing the work to concretely link it to our economic interests in the Gulf. It’s mainly an abbreviated version of Iraq and the International Oil System with a few contemporary musings slipped in. Still at 150 pages it’s pretty jam packed with interesting information.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

chapter 1 is boring and irrelevant, but the book got really interesting once the focus shifted to oil. the author does a decent job explaining the basis for US involvement in the middle east (duh, oil), from WWI to the Iraq War. unfortunately the book also ends poorly, with the focus strangely shifting into mass psychology and blaming neocons. he could have done a better job fitting the neocon strategy into the economic interests of the US empire, which it serves. nevertheless, a book that sets off some lightbulbs for those of us who have been fed a daily diet of lies about the mideast since birth.

[Wachlin007 Hotmail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows how the current war we are in came about. There was a lot of background information that I did not know about. Oil definitely plays a big role in our foreign policy. This book shows how.