GM Deathwatch

[427TJ]

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Will you send your children off to war to defend this country when the security issue is corporate, not national?

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When I was flying missions during the '91 war* (Desert Storm) I knew full well that it was not to liberate poor little Kuwait so much as it was to re-stabilize the region's (the world's) oil business. I love driving cars and flying airplanes so I had no problem fighting for my right to do so. I would argue that the 2003 invasion of Iraq had strong corporate power influence. Think of it: You are an oil company senior executive and there's a chance that you can gain substantial access to and control of the world's second-largest oil fields--some have even said that Iraq's potential reserves are larger than Saudi Arabia's reserves. You'd be letting your shareholders down if you didn't secretly wish for an invasion to occur and plan for how to proceed once an invasion occurred. So with the provocation (and political cover) of 9/11 we almost immediately began looking at Iraq. Six years after the 2003 invasion the western oil companies have re-established their pre-1970s control (for the most part) over at least half of the oil reserves of the Middle East. Mission Accomplished? Perhaps.

I thank American soldiers, sailors and airmen every time I fill my tank. No kidding, I really do.

(*And missions from the UAE, Turkey and Saudi Arabia before and after Desert Storm.)

(Don't ask how much fuel the KC-135s had to dump during the early days of Desert Storm because of mix-ups in the frag (mission schedule), it would knock you right off of your chair.)