Iraqi oil makes less than 3% of the US oil imports. Exploration in Iraq is done by oil companies from all over the place, mostly non-US. Recent oil contracts went to BP and CNOOC (China).

The only "oil war" I know of is last's year Russian attack on Georgia to monopolize energy traffic to Europe.

Ira, why would we possibly care if Iraq sells Oil for $ or Euro or Yen?
It makes no difference to us whatsoever.. Currencies are converted one into another at a fraction of a second.
On renewable - we are currently using 7.5% renewal energy in this country.
We have huge deserts here, perfect locations for windfarms and solar farms. Just need a robust grid.

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Человек, который почувствовал ветер перемен, должен построить не щит от ветра, а ветряную мельницу

OK, Alex, so WHAT IS the US interest in the Middle East in your opinion?

Pretty much the same as declaring war on Germany after Pearl Harbor.

What I don't understand is: if our only interests were oil, wouldn't we attack Venezuela, like Mike suggested? It's an easy target. Our only casualties would be 5 marines lost to STDs and rum over-consumption. Or, we could take over Canada, also super easy target, and trade their diamonds for oil. We could do that for the eternity.

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Хочу лето (или нормальную зиму)

Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park is the largest Solar power production facility. Currently is 250,000sq m. facility with output of 85GwH per year.
We currently consume about 2700000Gw per year.
Which means with current efficiency we would need
2700000/85 * 250,000 = 8,000,000,000 m^2 of space = 3088 square miles
that's of course is a lot of space but... Mojave desert itself is 30,000 square miles.
So even without using more efficient solar cells ( developed every year ) 10% of mojave desert can support the entire US electricity production.

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Человек, который почувствовал ветер перемен, должен построить не щит от ветра, а ветряную мельницу

Looks like England and France are the real aggressors in the WWII. Hitler and Stalin invaded Poland, which neither British, nor French, nor Israeli territory.

Ira, no, it does not mean it at all.
who cares what's the currency of settlement?

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Человек, который почувствовал ветер перемен, должен построить не щит от ветра, а ветряную мельницу

If you are talking about about the first Gulf war - the INTERNATIONAL law did allow for the COALITION (AGAIN - US, Britts, Saudis...not the whole world) to expell Saddam from Kuwait...

Iraq signed a treaty that ended the Gulf War. Then followed almost 13 years of Iraqi violations of that treaty. From the point of view of the pesy int'l law that means that the state of war is resumed.

Alex, we will go in circles here forever...why Iraq? Why not N Korea?...if we go to N Korea, then there will be millions of questions - why we did, they couldn't have harmed us and so on and on and on...it's always conspiracy theories and not understanding the dangers of this World...