My standard answer to the claim: "It's about oil" is: thank God it's about SOMETHING. I'd hate to go to war over nothing. . .

But in fact, it can't be about oil, or oil alone. Oil is one of those 'fluid' commodities that anyone can and does sell to anyone else. It doesn't matter who owns it because you can always buy it ('ceptin for the very occasional blockade, and I don't recall a war over breaking down the blockade).

So while oil is a perfectly acceptable reason to go to war, it isn't about oil.

Mr. Greenspan was very good about what he did - monetary control. He was not considered a great sage in other respects, and was frequently wrong in his market predictions. That doesn't detract from his intelligence, humor, capability, and honesty. But he isn't always right.