Good news from Iraq

Now we begin the interminable policing of the world's largest reserves of oil.

Which, I would say, was the long-term goal of our involvement there

NOW we begin the policing of the the world's largest reserves of oil? Actually, I think we've been doing that for generations.

Yes, I agree. That was a poor choice of words on my part. If the violence in Iraq has in fact decreased, then the US's ongoing policing of the regionwith the worlds largest reserves of oil will simply continue in a less violent way. The enormous expense continues unabated.

Actually, Iraq does not have the largest reserve; it's #4.
Yes depending on who's doing the accounting, you could be right on that one fine point. But all the experts agree that the region - Saudis, Iranians, Iraqis, et al - are sitting atop the world's largest reserves of oil. Dick Cheney put it this way, and he's dead right:

"We're there (Iraq) because the fact of the matter is that part of the world controls the world supply of oil, and whoever controls the supply of oil, especially if it were a man like Saddam Hussein, with a large army and sophisticated weapons, would have a stranglehold on the American economy and on — indeed on the world economy."

And you ask, sarcastically, "What country should do the policing? Venezuela?"

Obviously those whose economies would falter first with the loss of cheap oil will do the policing. Europe is decades ahead of us in energy policy. Perhaps that's why the "coalition" in Iraq is essentially the US. We're the biggest oil addicts around.

Good Lord, people! I would bet dimes to dollars that pretty much no one here has bothered reading anything by anyone who's actually um, you know, ON THE GROUND right now! Educate yourself before you go spouting nonsense about what the Iraqi's think and cooked numbers. Right now, this thread does nothing but re-inforce the notion that liberals are so attached to losing that they would rather see that happen than have things turn out well.