Okay, here's my usual paranoid take on the whole situation:

Saudi Arabia is the U.S.'s largest oil trading partner. However, Saudi/U.S. relations are currently at a low point. Does anyone seriously think that the "contingency planners" in the Bush administration have not given some thought to what would happen if the Saudis should decide to shut off oil exports to the U.S.? What better way to minimize the effect of such a cut-off than to "own" a country such as Iraq with huge oil reserves? With a puppet government in Baghdad, Bush could tell the Saudis to keep their steenking oil. Then, he could launch an invasion of Saudi Arabia from the new U.S. military bases in Iraq.

Yes, it's paranoid. But, don't forget, so is Dubya.

Bruce