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Final point. Oliver - much respect generally, but your shit about oil prices just doesn't make any sense.
Why not?
Oliver Schick-
Because your assertion that western governments want war in Syria/northern Iraq to keep oil prices low makes no sense.
Let's say that productivity hasn't been lost at oilfields under Daesh control (it most likely has). The oil would be coming to market anyway through formal channels. It doesn't change the global supply-demand balance much to have war in Syria/northwest Iraq
Most of Iraq's production is in the south, around Basra, for the record.
Oil prices are low because OPEC has no quotas at the moment because they're trying to force US shale drillers to scale back production. Which they're gradually doing, but everyone I talk to (I'm an energy journalist) reckons oil's going to stay below $70/bl for a good few years yet.
Basically what's going on in Syria has very little impact on the oil price.
h2o
Thanks all for engaging with the question seriously. I'm genuinely curious to know people's views.
For a bit of context on my part - I marched against the war in 2002-3, I'm not so sure I would march against a war now. Invading Iraq seemed a very bad idea, because destabilising the place might have led to shit like we have now. Now we have the shit we have now, I'm less sure of what I think we should do.
I respect the idea we should have UN blessing to intervene. Some think we do. I think that if we tried to get more of a blessing than we have Russian vetos might become an issue.
I don't think bombing is a panacea. I don't think think working with the local tribes always works out well. But neither did western boots on the ground. I'd like to see anyone come up with a decent plan. For the moment, is degrading their ability to hurt us such a bad thing?
Final point. Oliver - much respect generally, but your shit about oil prices just doesn't make any sense.