Gates rejects Greenspan claim war is about oil

When sock puppets speak...

Come on now. Aside from Bush's ass lickers doesn't anyone realize it was always about the oil? WMD? Dictatorship? Democracy? Stabilizing the region? Freeing the people, many of whom we've killed?

Don't make me laugh. OK, I can't laugh about that last one.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates rejected on Sunday former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's statement that the Iraq war "is largely about oil," saying the conflict is driven by the need to stabilize the Gulf and put down hostile forces.

Gates' defense of the conflict, now in its fifth year, came a day after thousands of anti-war protesters marched in Washington. Police arrested 192 for crossing a barrier, a spokeswoman for the Capitol Police said.

Most were released by Sunday afternoon, but one who was also charged with carrying an incendiary device, and some others with outstanding warrants, were still in custody, Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said.

In his new book, "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World," Greenspan echoed the long-held complaints of many critics that Iraq's rich oil supplies are a major motivating force behind the war.

"Whatever their publicized angst over Saddam Hussein's 'weapons of mass destruction,' American and British authorities were also concerned about violence in an area that harbors a resource indispensable for the functioning of the world economy," Greenspan wrote.

"I'm saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: The Iraq war is largely about oil," added Greenspan, for decades one of the most respected U.S. voices on fiscal policy.

Via Reuters.