Does This Come As a Surprise to Anyone???

(Via Reuters):

The United States may want to keep a long-term military presence in Iraq to bolster moderates against extremists in the region and protect the flow of oil, the Army general overseeing U.S. military operations in Iraq said on Tuesday.

While the Bush administration has downplayed prospects for permanent U.S. bases in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid told a House of Representatives subcommittee he could not rule that out.

(SNIP)

Abizaid also said the United States and its allies have a vital interest in the oil-rich region.

"Ultimately it comes down to the free flow of goods and resources on which the prosperity of our own nation and everybody else in the world depend," he said.

So the bullshit about being there to find WMDs gives way to the bullshit about being there to combat terrorism gives way to the bullshit about bringing them democracy . . . but ALL ALONG it is really about the oil. I guess our army and the people who are dying there are doing so in service to the petroleum industry, not any notions of patriotic idealism. What a travesty of our county's values.