Ted Koppel in 'NYT': Iraq for U.S. Is 'About the Oil'

Editor & Publisher ^ | 02/24/2006

[GeneD]

In a surprisingly strong Op Ed on Friday, Ted Koppel, the former "Nightline" host who is now an occasional columnist for The New York Times, argues that when it comes right down to it, the U.S. adventure in Iraq is, as some charge, "about the oil."

He likened the situation to H.L. Mencken's statement that when someone says something is "not about the money" it is indeed "about the money." The same is true in this case relating to oil.

While it's wrong to say that we invaded the country to take over its oil supply, Koppel writes in the Times, "the construction of American military bases inside Iraq, bases that can be maintained long after the bulk of our military forces are ultimately withdrawn, will serve to replace the bases that the United States has lost in Saudi Arabia. There may be other national security reasons that the United States cannot now precipitously withdraw its forces from Iraq, including the danger that the country would become a regional terrorist base; but none is greater than forestalling the ensuing power vacuum and regional instability, and the impact this would have on oil production....

"Perhaps the day will come when the United States is no longer addicted to imported oil; but that day is still many years off. For now, the reason for America's rapt attention to the security of the Persian Gulf is what it has always been. It's about the oil."

Noting arguments for many years about the importance of oil to our economy, Koppel observes, "If those considerations did not enter into the Bush administration's calculations when the president ordered the invasion of Iraq in 2003, it would have been the first time in more than 50 years that the uninterrupted flow of Persian Gulf oil was not a central element of American foreign policy."

[GeneD]

See what you miss when you don't have Times Select?

[abb]

Ted Koppel? Didn't he used to be big in television? Or did the pictures just get small?

[Fintan]

 

[Just mythoughts]

Who was in control of that oil before we set it to be free on the open market?

Wasn't it the UN, and that Oil for rotten Food profiteers?

Teddy Teddy you are not filling in all the blanks, and yes Russia and France are still ticked about alllll that Oil for rotten Food contracts they lost out on.

[Thermalseeker]

Ted is partly right. The war in Iraq is partly about oil, or, more specifically, the free flow thereof. Oil is the lynch pin that binds our economy together. Since there is no other viable energy source to replace it (yet), without oil we would be back to the horse and buggy days. I wonder if Mr. Koppel would prefer to go back to riding a horse instead of driving his SUV?

[Red Badger]

If Iraq is about the oil, then Korea must be about the rice.......

[G.Mason]

" ... Ted Koppel, the former "Nightline" host who is ..." still trying to be relevant.

[angkor]

So what, Ted. It's our oil, regardless of the coincidence that a culture of ignorant, 7th century primitives sit on top of it.

[an amused spectator]

See what you miss when you don't have Times Select?

LOL! I haven't read a Times Select article since they came out, and I can feel my mind withering... NOT

I've got a concept: Would that Teddy "Bad Hair Lifetime" Koppel devote his massive brainpower to a like expose of the taxation structure in the United States.

I won't hold my breath. ;-)

[TexGuy]

If Iraq is about the oil, then Korea must be about the rice.......

And WWI & WWII was about the Brie!

[harpu]

And Koppel wonders why they retired him from ABC!?!

[BadAndy]

"He likened the situation to H.L. Mencken's statement that when someone says something is "not about the money" it is indeed "about the money."

It's not about Ted Koppel being a schmuck.

[ThirstyMan]

I feel that the invasion of Iraq was precipitated by the WOT and the threat of Saddam to world stability.

Now that includes oil for sure, but our safety and the future of the free remains the #1 reason we went there. Ted is mouthing the liberal wacko's war cry of the years.

I've heard this from my hippie friends for ever! ...as if oil being available in a steady flow at a reasonable price was this huge bogey man.

To the ultra liberal, all one must say is "Oil" to summarize all that is wrong with America.

[joebuck]

Uhhhhhh, Ted....have you ever looked at a map? Anyone with even a ounce of knowledge of military history needs only to glance at a map to recognize the geographic strategic value of Iraq as a base of operations in the middle east. Even if it didn't have a drop of oil, Iraq is easily the most obvious place one would want to establislh a presence to fight the war against extremist islamists.

[carumba]

Now don't start comparing him to Mr. Ed.

[Bommer]

, "If those considerations did not enter into the Bush administration's calculations when the president ordered the invasion of Iraq in 2003, it would have been the first time in more than 50 years that the uninterrupted flow of Persian Gulf oil was not a central element of American foreign policy." BINGO Ted! Its alwasys been about the oil! It was about the oil when we started the Cold War! And when we went to Vietnam! It was about the oil in Granada! It was about the oil in Bosnia! Yes nothing but oil oil oil for the last 50 years!

[Puppage]

the U.S. adventure in Iraq is, as some charge, "about the oil

If that were the case, we could have saved a fortune on airfare & invaded Canada or Mexico.

[in hoc signo vinces]

Sure...it's about a the oil, Ted. And about a million other things that apparently don't suit your agenda in this Op-Ed piece in a DNC propaganda rag.

Anyone with an IG above a ham sandwich can see through Koppel's BS.

[in hoc signo vinces]

ooppp...that's IQ...hahahahaha...mine isnt so high without a cup of coffee in the morning.

[Rummyfan]

Ted Koppel? The Hairpiece? Times Select - saving us from accidentally stumbling across their great editorials!