McCain in 1992: Christianity and Oil Drive US Wars in Middle East
From "Larry King Live," August 3, 1992: McCain gave two reasons for US military involvement in the Middle East. We are a "Judeo-Christian nation" [so it really is a Crusade?] and "as long as the world's energy resources come from that part of the world . . ."
' [Larry] KING: Quickly - El Paso. We're running out of time. Go ahead.
10th CALLER: [El Paso, Texas] Yes, Jim Hagan [?], and my question is, why should we start with the assumption that the United States should send any force into Iraq or Yugoslavia, when the Western European nations, the Arabs, have more wealth, more manpower, the Russians-
KING: All right, John, quickly, tell us why we do help them?
Sen. [John] McCAIN: Very quickly, Jim, that's one of the reasons why we have not gone into Bosnia-Hercegovina, because of that very reason. And the Europeans should lead; although, over time, we may be forced, as a Judeo-Christian nation, to intervene. But in the Middle East, my friend, as long as the world's oil resources come from that area of the world, we have to be vitally involved."
posted by Juan Cole @ 10/07/2008 12:12:00 AM
Click to join Infoco
6 Comments:
The thrust of what McCain said is confirmed by the work of Michael Klare, whose work Blood and Oil is now a documentary film that is very very good. Its synopsis:
"The notion that oil motivates America's military engagements in the Middle East has long been dismissed as nonsense or mere conspiracy theory. Blood and Oil, a new documentary based on the critically-acclaimed work of Nation magazine defense correspondent Michael T. Klare, challenges this conventional wisdom to correct the historical record. The film unearths declassified documents and highlights forgotten passages in prominent presidential doctrines to show how concerns about oil have been at the core of American foreign policy for more than 60 years – rendering our contemporary energy and military policies virtually indistinguishable. In the end, Blood and Oil calls for a radical re-thinking of US energy policy, warning that unless we change direction, we stand to be drawn into one oil war after another as the global hunt for diminishing world petroleum supplies accelerates."
I recently saw it on LinkTV and was very impressed. Historically, Klare and I are collaborators of sorts in that we're looking at the US Empire's history and the thinking that motivates/ed its behavior. The McCain excerpt is very much in keeping within the traditional norms of US Imperialism and should not be earth shaking or surprising--provided one knows their history.
What Obama has illustrated so far in his speeches and other verbiage is in no ways different from the traditional Imperialist norm. However, the situation is now quite different because the contradictions introduced into the US economy by Reaganism, which espoused the offshoring of the US manufacturing base while embracing the debt-based service/consumer-greed is good economy, have done their work and are now crippling the US economy to the point where it will no longer be able to afford its military industrial complex--although great efforts will be made to save it, which will run into mass citizen opposition.
A CNN Poll reports that 60% of responsdents think a "depression likely." A laid off employee from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Sony Pictures who had an MBA in finance shot himself and 5 family memebrs to death in their Los Angeles gated community home. Last week, a 90-year-old woman being served with eviction papers in Akron tried to kill herself, but failed, and has since had her loan forgiven. The most appropriate measure of unemployment that includes workers not normally considered a part of the work force climbed to over 11%, while the more accurate Shadowstats records 15% unemployment and inflation over 13%. And just to make thinks real peachy, Pakistan is facing bankruptcy.
The Great Depression forced the US to greatly cutail its Imperialistic behavior, to the point where it prevented FDR from invading Mexico at the behest of Big Oil when Cardenas finally fulfilled the 1918 Constitution's demand that all mineral rights and operations be nationalized. The battle pitting Big Money and Big War against the US citizenry is now joined. As I said several months ago, economic events will force the hand of whomever becomes president, and Change will happen in manners not envisioned during the campaigns or conventions.
It is not fair to single out McCain on the Oil and Crusade issues. Virtually the entire Washington Establishment agree with him. Oil and anti-Aran/Islam are prerequisites to join the elite class. Even Obama, the Change merchant, had to capitulate to be allowed in.
Dear Professor Cole
I am afraid I have to agree with David Brooks rather contemptuous conclusion in this mornings NYT.
It will take, he suggests, a global leadership class that can answer essential questions: How much leverage should be allowed? Can we preserve the development model in which certain nations pile up giant reserves and park them in the U.S.?
Until these and other issues are addressed, the global markets will lack confidence in asset values. Bankers will cower, afraid to lend. America’s role as the global hub will be threatened. Europeans will drift toward nationalization. Neomercantilists will fill the vacuum.
This is the test. This is the problem that will consume the next president. Meanwhile, the two candidates for that office are talking about Bill Ayers and Charles Keating.
Perhaps a respected World Authority like you might call Time on this childish kindergarten spectacle.
The rest of the world is watching and wondering where any remaining credibility and authority might have drained away to.
but mccain makes perfect sense (in the context of his delusions) - and it has nothing to do with a crusade (which is for true believers, not cynics):
since jesus was a proponent of a version of the golden rule (love thy neighbor as thyself) it directly follows that a judeo-christian nation would dedicate its resources to helping other nations instead of squandering it all on making sure our own people get decent healthcare.
wouldn't you like it to be bombed to bits? but since we are so selfless, only some of our neighbors get this treatment.
they should be grateful that they live on top of the oil reserves, we can't afford to give aid to everybody, now can we...
andreas
it's one thing to say that the only two reasons the middle east happen to be of any serious interest to the rest of the world are that 40% of the world's oil reserves and the fact that the three religions of the book were born there. of course that is true.
that the developed world--and not just the US--would be concerned about attempts to further concentrate oil holdings or to cut off oil flows to the economies of the rest of the world just makes sense. that is not the same as saying the war was about taking the oil, which is the notion you are attempting to sell to your readers, who are uninformed about the nature of the oil business, it's intersection with US politics, and thus manipulable.
the fact that some islamic radicals took out the world trade center is not something you can lay at the feet of the "american elites". that america is judeo-christian nation is obvious, and all nations need to take into consideration the way that their policies will play out in the domestic politics of other nations with different religious majorities. this is just as true of the US as it is of iran, and much as the elites of iran appear to wish to ignore it.
this is just populist claptrap.
Eurofrank wrote: "This is the test. This is the problem that will consume the next president. Meanwhile, the two candidates for that office are talking about Bill Ayers and Charles Keating."
More correct to say Obama was talking about the economy and health care, McCain took the low road and offered a spurious relationship between a former 60's radical (now establishment) and Obama, and then Obama chose not to be swift-boated by offering a look at McCain and a financial scandal.
I would say Obama is talking about economics and McCain is still hiding from the issue.
It's the economy, stupid.
Post a Comment
<< Home