Michael T Klare: Oil, geopolitics and war with Iran

AsiaTimes: If the United States attacks Iran, one thing is certain: the administration of President George W Bush will never mention oil as a reason for going to war. As in the case of Iraq, weapons of mass destruction (WMD) will be cited as the principal justification for a US assault. "We will not tolerate the construction of a nuclear weapon" by Iran is the way Bush put it in a much-quoted 2003 statement.

But just as the failure to discover illicit weapons in Iraq undermined the administration's use of WMD as the paramount reason for its invasion, so its claim that an attack on Iran would be justified because of its alleged nuclear potential should invite widespread skepticism. More important, any serious assessment of Iran's strategic importance to the US should focus on its role in the global energy equation.

Before proceeding, let me state for the record that I do not claim oil is the sole driving force behind the Bush administration's apparent determination to destroy Iranian military capabilities. No doubt there are many national security professionals in Washington who are truly worried about Iran's nuclear program, just as there were many professionals who were genuinely worried about Iraqi weapons capabilities. I respect this. But no war is ever prompted by one factor alone, and it is evident from the public record that many considerations, including oil, played a role in the administration's decision to invade Iraq. Likewise, it is reasonable to assume that many factors - again including oil - are playing a role in the decision-making now under way over a possible assault on Iran. Link