[Peace] 2004 Election, Iraq, and Peak Oil
ndahlhei at uiuc.edu
ndahlhei at uiuc.edu
Wed Jul 28 00:05:31 CDT 2004
After watching the 2004 Democratic Convention the last
two nights, I have grown greatly disappointed in the
prospects of a really strong and clear alternative to Bush-
Cheney and their gang of neo-conservative radicals and their
oil and pharmaceutical company backers. We must look deeply
at our political system and how these imperialist wars such
as those involving Afghanistan and now also Iraq come into
being. While the person sitting in the Oval Office is
important, the interests driving policy outside the direct
confines of elected office are often the most important in
my view of politics. I propose a thesis that the driving
force of these wars is not "terrorism", but rather the
American drive for global empire as she steps into the post-
Cold War void to seize control of vital resources to secure
the growth of American capitalism for the rich while
impovershing the poor. This occurrs in an age where
numerous other state and non-state actors seek to redefine
their spheres of influence and their own growing economies
in the 21st century amidst the global reality of Peak Oil.
The world oil production will likely peak within 10-15 years
and then enter a period of terminal decline where real
shortages and cataclysmic economic crises could become the
backdrop to ever increasing global conflict. 9/11 and the
subsequent U.S. invasions of Afghanistan (for the oil
pipeline from the Caspian Sea to Pakistan) and Iraq for its
oil signal the military solutions sought by the United
States financial interests and carried out by their gang of
war criminals, the Bush White House. We must examine the
impact of energy on the economy and society and look at the
systemic issues behind the "War on Terror." This election
is very important for the people of this country, and we
must remind our community in Champaign-Urbana as well as at
the university of this election's importance, but we must
also use this opportunity to work for change in our
capitalist, materialistic, and now nearly militaristic
society from the grassroots level. The political and
financial elites will not easily turn away from violence to
justify their greed, but we can always change our lives and
encourage a greater respect amongst the human family by
living lives of stewardship of Mother Earth and non-
violence.
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