Oil

[kokings]

[/quote]

I was kidding, too. I'm not a retard. Also, I know as long as this renegade "cowboy" is in office, I won't have to worry about gas going up that high.. He'll just invade another country if it does.
[/quote]

People always say this... What does this even mean??  How are we getting "their" oil?  You mean we went into Iraq for oil? At the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars in damage to the economy so we can get some oil out of Iraq?  Is this why oil prices are going down, afterall, we went into Iraq and now we have "their" oil.

I am amazed by the prevalent view that going into Iraq was for oil... maybe I am missing something but can someone who is more intelligent or informed explain to me how A) we are getting their oil B) how this makes sense considering the negative side effects a war brings to an economy

[->Soon]

I was kidding, too. I'm not a retard. Also, I know as long as this renegade "cowboy" is in office, I won't have to worry about gas going up that high.. He'll just invade another country if it does.
[/quote]

People always say this... What does this even mean??  How are we getting "their" oil?  You mean we went into Iraq for oil? At the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars in damage to the economy so we can get some oil out of Iraq?  Is this why oil prices are going down, afterall, we went into Iraq and now we have "their" oil.

I am amazed by the prevalent view that going into Iraq was for oil... maybe I am missing something but can someone who is more intelligent or informed explain to me how A) we are getting their oil B) how this makes sense considering the negative side effects a war brings to an economy

[/quote]

thts not why we went there.

[allthatjazz]

weren't oil company profits--profit, not revenue--recently at an all-time high?  yeah, greedy oil companies couldn't have anything to do with that, it's all because of... the increased costs on their end.

While oil company profits may be at an all-time high, the profit margin of oil companies is not much higher than that for all industries and actually trails many industries such as banking, pharmaceuticals, and real estate, among others.  In addition, consumers in the U.S. pay much lower prices for gasoline than do consumers in most other industrialized countries, which see higher prices due mostly to taxes.

[allthatjazz]

Thank you for a paragraph of completely irrelevant information.

I though it very relevant to your claim concerning greedy oil companies but whatever.

[kokings]

People always say this... What does this even mean??  How are we getting "their" oil?  You mean we went into Iraq for oil? At the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars in damage to the economy so we can get some oil out of Iraq?  Is this why oil prices are going down, afterall, we went into Iraq and now we have "their" oil.

I am amazed by the prevalent view that going into Iraq was for oil... maybe I am missing something but can someone who is more intelligent or informed explain to me how A) we are getting their oil B) how this makes sense considering the negative side effects a war brings to an economy

Was there a clearly defined objective for the invasion and occupation of Iraq?  You got one to offer?  Or would you prefer to just shoot that one down because it doesn't seem to have been clearly stated before the war?

The "clearly defined objective" for invading Iraq and removing the government was the threat of WMD's and the fact that Saddamm Hussein was harboring and training terrorist militia's.  Once the public found out there was in fact no WMD's to be found general public opinion (at least from the left) was that "we went there for the oil"

I am not shooting any theory down... This concept doesn't make sense to me, so I asked if anyone who agrees with they theory that America invaded Iraq for oil to explain this to me.

I actually believe that America went into the Middle East for the security of the country.  As far as business goes, of course, we are going to reap most of the benefits of reconstructing the country.  Almost all of the cost of war, troops, etc. is being supplied by the US.  So countries like France do not want to support a military invasion and do not offer their support militarily or financially BUT they feel they should be among those considered for reconstruction contracts?? Are you kidding?

[allthatjazz]

Ah that the profit margins are higher is relevant, the fact that other "industries" have higher average profit margins than the energy/oil company average is irrelevant and is just oil company PR.

Ah, now I understand...reality is "irrelevant".

[kokings]

People always say this... What does this even mean??  How are we getting "their" oil?  You mean we went into Iraq for oil? At the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars in damage to the economy so we can get some oil out of Iraq?  Is this why oil prices are going down, afterall, we went into Iraq and now we have "their" oil.

I am amazed by the prevalent view that going into Iraq was for oil... maybe I am missing something but can someone who is more intelligent or informed explain to me how A) we are getting their oil B) how this makes sense considering the negative side effects a war brings to an economy

How do you figure its done hundreds of billions of dollars in damage?  The whole point of the war (at least economically) was to re charge the defense/oil industries (the Bush administration/family constituents).  Its done just that, it gave them a great excuse to increase government expenditures to a new high and funnel all that money to "their people".  

As the IRAQIS struggle under the occupation-spurred violence, the WAR is exacting bitter costs on the Americans. Shortly before the 2003 U.S.-led INVASION, U.S. economist Larry Lindsey estimated that the costs of the WAR might range between $100 and $200 billion. But other officials disputed these figures. For example, DEFENCE SECRETARY DONALD RUMSFELD once estimated the cost at $50 billion. Three years after the INVASION, it appears that Lindsey’s figures were a gross underestimate.

Many Americans are concerned that the BUSH Administration have failed to tell them the truth about the real costs of IRAQ WAR as it had misled them about SADDAM's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction and his ties with AL-QAEDA network. Ignoring the real human and financial costs of the war might be easy for BUSH. But the reality of the WAR is not so easy to hide.

A recent study estimated the long-term cost of the war at $1.3 trillion. The research included the $500 billion that the Congressional Budget Office publicly discusses, which is still ten times higher that what the Administration said the WAR would cost.

The Administration’s figures are underestimated because they do not include the full budgetary costs to the government, which represent a fraction of the costs to the American economy as a whole. The BUSH Administration, for example, is trying to hide the future Veterans Administration and ongoing health care costs. (So far, more than 2,245 soldiers died in IRAQ, about 16,584 U.S. returning soldiers were severely wounded, and about 100,000 need mental health services).

[->Soon]

Ah that the profit margins are higher is relevant, the fact that other "industries" have higher average profit margins than the energy/oil company average is irrelevant and is just oil company PR.

Ah, now I understand...reality is "irrelevant".

you're dealing with delusional people with a mental dsiorder here.  it's called liberalism.

conservatives are just as delusional.

[kokings]

LOL I remember reading that a while ago and I did a search for it and I never saw it was from Al-Jazeera... I guess this will be my new source of information.

[allthatjazz]

How do higher average profit margins in real estate development justify the burden of rising gas prices on low income Americans?

Rising gas prices are largely a product of supply and demand.  Yet, some like to point to greedy oil companies as being the culprit and not market forces.  Comparing profit margins is useful as a way to point out that oil companies are not earning profits that are out of line with other industries and sectors of the economy.  Prices are going up because the cost of business is rising, mostly due to increased demand by developing nations particualrly India and China.

While the burden of rising gas prices on low income Americans is unfortunate, there is not much the oil companies can truely do to lower prices without forcing themselves out of business.  If you want to blame someone for the burden placed on low income Americans, blame those who do not want the U.S. to explore and exploit its own oil reserves or blame India and China for attempting to develop their economies.  Or blame the goverment that tacks an average of 46 cents tax on each gallon of gasoline.