http://www.crisishq.com/why-prepare/world-war-3-preserving-petrodollar/ "Excerpt from a May 5, 1996 interview: Lesley Stahl from 60 Minutes show, asks Secretary of State Madeleine Albright about the U.S. sanctions against Iraq: “We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?“ Secretary of State Madeleine Albright replies: “I think this is a very hard choice, but the price–we think the price is worth it.” What exactly was it that was worth killing 500,000 kids for? Let’s see if you can spot a pattern here. Iraq… In November 2000, Iraq began selling its oil exclusively in euros. This was a direct attack on the petrodollar and it wasn’t going to be tolerated. In response, the U.S. government with the assistance of the mainstream media began to build up a massive propaganda campaign, claiming that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and was planning to use them. In 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq. Once the U.S. had control of the country, oil sales were immediately switched back to dollars. This is particularly notable due to the fact that switching back to the dollar meant a 15-20% loss in revenue due to the euro’s higher value. It doesn’t make any sense at all unless you take the Petrodollar into account."
Correlation isn't always causation. Sanctions were seen as something positive we could do against Saddam's regime short of all out war, which you may have heard is also rather deadly. The deaths attributed to sanctions were pretty much entirely under Saddam's control. He was undermining the sanctions and making money on the side, the last thing on his mind was the well being of his terrorized people.
The US chose to punish Saddam's people with sanctions instead of punishing Saddam, who they knew was going around the sanctions? It all makes sense now. I feel so much better. Thank you for clearing that up.
Lets clarify, the invasion of Iraq was not something any US government would do, just the ones runs by bushes.
spidergoat, desi, et al, Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. --------------------------------------------------------------------------Albert Einstein Throughout history, some policy or form of the --- deliberate withholding of navigation rights, open trade, or financial interchanges of commodities have been used to induce a desire response by nations. Since the time of the Romans, this was usually accomplished through naval blockades. In more modern times, we have called these actions of government-inspired interference with economic and commercial trade - "economic sanctions" - a combination of trade sanctions and financial sanctions. (COMMENT) Outcomes: Yes: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Will we get different results. This is the only real tool that modern leaders have, without resorting to managed escalation in incremental violence. Most Respectfully, R