I am beginning to think that the US and its western allies are like a man with the proverbial tiger-by-the-tail. The 'tiger' is control of the world's oil supply, which the whole of US/western 'civilisation' is utterly dependent on. This is an unpalatable fact and although this situation leads to great suffering and injustice we have to ask the question what happens on the day we wake up and find that someone else (Iran? India? China?) controls the oil supply?
What complicates the situation is the unavoidable fact that the oil supply is dwindling and I suppose World War III will be (is already being?) fought over the last few dregs.