8/7/20 Michael Klare on War in the Middle East and the Politics of Oil

8/7/20 Michael Klare on War in the Middle East and the Politics of Oil

Scott talks to Michael Klare about the incentives behind America’s involvement in wars in the Middle East. One common narrative says that Bush invaded Iraq simply because America needed the oil—the truth, says Klare, is somewhat more complicated. He explains that American war planners see a combined strategic interest in U.S. involvement in the Middle East that includes military positioning and the economic interest of exerting control over the oil trade. For one thing, America has essentially promised Saudi Arabia that it will defend their kingdom forever in exchange for a privileged position in the oil business. Even if the U.S. is energy independent, says Klare, oil prices here depend on the global market, so there will always be incentive to try to maintain stability in the Middle East. With the current state of global economy, there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight.

Discussed on the show:

Michael Klare is the author of The Race for What’s Left and a regular contributor at TomDispatch.com. Find him on Twitter @mklare1.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

About Scott Horton

Scott Horton is director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, host of Antiwar Radio on Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and podcasts the Scott Horton Show from ScottHorton.org. He's the author of the 2021 book Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism, the 2017 book, Fool's Errand:Time to End the War in Afghanistan, editor of the 2019 book The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019 and the 2022 book Hotter Than The Sun: Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. He’s conducted more than 5,800 interviews since 2003. Scott lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Larisa Alexandrovna Horton.

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