Doug:

The argument is neither tired nor old. That was then, this is now.

Then, Iraq invaded Kuwait and our mission was to get them out of there. At that time, American oil companies were on an equal footing with everyone else for Iraq's oil. Of course if Kuwait's main export were broccoli, we wouldn't have bothered.

Now, it is illegal for U.S. oil companies to deal with Iraq due to the oil embargo. Meanwhile, Sadaam has been signing contracts with other nations to sell them oil when the embargo is lifted, leaving U.S. oil companies out in the cold.

The solution is to topple Sadaam, colonize Iraq, void the existing contracts, and allow U.S. oil companies back into the game.

Your absolutely right that we could have taken over Kuwait or Iraq (or anyone else for that matter) but it would have been rather blatant and was not as necessary then as it is now. Now we have a war on terrorism which seems to justify toppling any government for any reason.

Bev and Jerry