Twitler Still Wants to Steal Iraq's Oil

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

While addressing the CIA on Saturday, President Donald Trump took a break from lambasting the media to remind everyone that he thinks the U.S. should have stolen Iraq’s oil. He also suggested that the U.S. might get another chance to violate international law.

“Now I said it for economic reasons,” Trump said while introducing Representative Mike Pompeo, his pick to lead the agency. “But if you think about it, Mike, if we kept the oil, you probably wouldn’t have ISIS because that’s where they made their money in the first place, so we should have kept the oil. But, okay, maybe we’ll have another chance.”

National Review has noted that Trump’s “odd fixation” with taking Iraq’s oil dates back to at least 2011. He made the argument numerous times on the campaign trail, suggesting that the U.S. could take Iraq’s oil while fighting ISIS. When PolitiFact examined the claim in September, numerous experts said trying to seize Iraqi oil would not be legal, feasible, or desirable. The idea is “so out of step with any plausible interpretation of U.S. history or international law that they should be dismissed out of hand by anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of world affairs,” said Lance Janda, a military historian at Cameron University.

It’s not clear what Trump meant by “maybe we’ll have another chance,” but when you’re president, people take even offhand remarks about violating international law pretty seriously. BuzzFeed spoke with several Iraqis on the front lines of the battle against ISIS, and they said they were prepared to take up arms against Americans if they attempted to take their country’s natural resources.

“I participated in the attack against the Americans by attacking them with mortars and roadside bombs, and I’m ready to do it again,” said Abu Luay, an Iraqi security official using a nom de guerre, who is currently fighting the terrorist group in northwest Iraq. “We kept our ammunition and weapons from the time the Americans left for fighting ISIS. But once ISIS is gone we will save our weapons for the Americans.”

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/01/trump-u-s-may-get-another-chance-to-take-iraqi-oil.html

 

[funinspace]

While I quite doubt, such a re-invasion will ever occur, as it would necessitate moving at least 50,000 soldiers over there for one thing. I assume that Tweetle-dum would be after the southern fields near the gulf, and not the Kurdish area. Yeah, the Shia's there just luv the US, never mind that Iran is heavily influencing that area already. Internationally it would be a disaster. The real consequence from Tweetle-dum, is that this will further sour what ever relations we even now have with Iraq and complicate our efforts to work with others against ISIS. This idiot will push Iraq further into cooperation with Iran and Russia. Once the Iraqi government thinks ISIS is on the ropes, they will be showing us the exit door.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

This was a very silly thing for Trump to say. It is certainly wrong to simply go in and take the oil.

The way it is done is to go in, find some group that pretends to like us, back them as they overthrow the government, install them as our puppets, then tell them who they sell the oil to for what currency they sell the oil for. The US controls the oil through puppet governments.

But to actually take the oil? How crude.

 

[Jayjay]

This was a very silly thing for Trump to say. It is certainly wrong to simply go in and take the oil.

The way it is done is to go in, find some group that pretends to like us, back them as they overthrow the government, install them as our puppets, then tell them who they sell the oil to for what currency they sell the oil for. The US controls the oil through puppet governments.

But to actually take the oil? How crude.

That's certainly a more refined way of doing it.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

This was a very silly thing for Trump to say. It is certainly wrong to simply go in and take the oil.

The way it is done is to go in, find some group that pretends to like us, back them as they overthrow the government, install them as our puppets, then tell them who they sell the oil to for what currency they sell the oil for. The US controls the oil through puppet governments.

But to actually take the oil? How crude.

That's certainly a more refined way of doing it.

Very slick.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

That's certainly a more refined way of doing it.

Very slick.

I didn't intend to fuel a pun cascade.

 

[funinspace]

Very slick.

I didn't intend to fuel a pun cascade.

I'd call it a pun gusher...

 

[Elixir]

This was a very silly thing for Trump to say. It is certainly wrong to simply go in and take the oil.

The way it is done is to go in, find some group that pretends to like us, back them as they overthrow the government, install them as our puppets, then tell them who they sell the oil to for what currency they sell the oil for. The US controls the oil through puppet governments.

But to actually take the oil? How crude.

Either way, all's well that ends well.

 

[dismal]

That's certainly a more refined way of doing it.

Very slick.

Seems a bit slippery to me.