Whatever it takes! We, and a couple of other western nations, located the oil, developed the fields and have been the running the entire process since day one. And yes, the plan has been to carve out a buffer zone in the middle of that very unstable area from which we can protect and if necessary launch protective strikes against any 'nut group' that want's to stir up the status quo. It is going to take a long, long time. Bush's only mistake has been in the area of information - although he told us that it was going to take a long time he has failed to follow through with aggressive statements and explanations. I would imagine that many Americans still don't get it.
Always glad to find a fellow realist.
Yes, they have been derelict about being realistic and truthful with the American people.
It's understandable. It's more palatable to say what has been said, than to directly state "The oil is ours (the West's), and we're going to stir up the stuff in these Middle East dungpiles; we're going to put them under the watch of a longterm American presence; and we're going to topple their vile, barbaric, and degenerate regimes one country at a time, over the long term."
I'm not sure that finessing the PR is the best approach, but that's what they're doing.