Karen Kwiatkowski and I are in complete agreement. I updated the original essay somewhat extensively last month, below are links to some of the updates (Essay can be printed in pdf format on this site as well, but it's 50 pages long...but I think most folks will find it quite interesting....
Revisited - The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War With Iraq:
A Macroeconomic and Geostrategic Analysis of the Unspoken Truth
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/RRiraqWar.htmlSummary
...Although completely unreported by the U.S. media and government, the answer to the Iraq enigma is simple yet shocking -- it is in large part an oil currency war. One of the core reasons for this upcoming war is this administration's goal of preventing further Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) momentum towards the euro as an oil transaction currency standard. However, in order to pre-empt OPEC, they need to gain geo-strategic control of Iraq along with its 2nd largest proven oil reserves. The second coalescing factor that is driving the Iraq war is the quiet acknowledgement by respected oil geologists and possibly this administration is the impending phenomenon known as Global "Peak Oil." This is projected to occur around 2010, with Iraq and Saudi Arabia being the final two nations to reach peak oil production. The issue of Peak Oil has been added to the scope of this essay, along with the macroeconomics of `petrodollar recycling' and the unpublicized but genuine challenge to U.S. dollar hegemony from the euro as an alternative oil transaction currency. The author advocates graduated reform of the global monetary system including a dollar/euro currency `trading band' with reserve status parity, a dual OPEC oil transaction standard, and multilateral treaties via the UN regarding energy reform. Such reforms could potentially reduce future oil currency and oil warfare. The essay ends with a reflection and critique of current US economic and foreign policies. What happens in the 2004 US elections will have a large impact on the 21st century.
Background on Hydrocarbons and US Geostrategy
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/RRiraqWar.html#p2b...To understand US Geostrategy one needs to have a realistic appreciation of the importance of hydrocarbons, the phenomenon referred to as Peak Oil, and the importance of Iraq's oil reserves with respect to these issues. I should note that two types of data exist regarding oil reserves, "political data" and "technical data."....
Post-War Commentary (January 1, 2004)
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/RRiraqWar.html#p4"Why of course the people don't want war. . . . That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, a parliament or a communist dictatorship . . . the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. . . . All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
--Hermann Goering, Nazi Reichsmarshal and Luftwaffe chief
at Nuremberg trials, 1945
...From the Roman Empire to today, the propaganda tactics for war as discussed by Hermann Goering remain effective. It is deplorable that even in the US or UK, people can always be "brought to the bidding of the leaders." It is New Years Day, almost nine months since the invasion of Iraq. The American people are slowly realizing how much they were misled about this war. Many books will be written about how these events unfolded, so I will only briefly summarize my general observations in a few opening paragraphs, and then return to the basic underlying Geostrategic and macroeconomic reasons for the Iraq war. First, it has emerged that a small clique of neoconservative ideologues and an Iraqi exile provided most of the fraudulent "intelligence data" that was publicized by the Executive Branch. This disinformation was apparent before the war, but now it is simply irrefutable. A brief synopsis of events follows....
Comments or critiques are welcome. (btw, there are a few typos in the updated section that the webmaster has not yet corrected...)