Originally Posted by jlomon

However, when you look at the larger geo-political context it is very important for the US to have a strong and stable influence in the Gulf region. 40% of the world's crude supply moves through the Straits of Hormuz. Saudi is the world's largest independent supplier and if I remember correctly Iran is either number two or number four. US military action to stabilize that region keeps the oil supply flowing, which keeps prices down and world supply met. This protects the integrity of the US economy by making sure that the supply keeps happening. Every barrel of oil that Saudi, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, UAE, etc sells to someone else keeps world demand met, which keeps the price of Canadian and Mexican oil at a reasonable level. I agree with the war for oil argument when you consider the integrity of the global market, not on the tactical "steal it from Iraq" argument. If it wasn't for the oil there, the US wouldn't have any reason to be interested in the region.