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Many have criticized Bush for staging the war in Iraq in order to seize Iraqi oil fields. However, those critics can’t explain why Bush would want to seize those fields. He could simply print dollars for nothing and use them to get all the oil in the world that he needs. He must have had some other reason to invade Iraq.
It's a little-publicised fact that in November 2000, former US ally Saddam Hussein used the only WMD left in his possession against the country that had once supplied him anthrax (source), chemical weapon samples and conventional military weapons to use against his neighbour, Iran.
The WMD in question? Not violence but purely economic. He [SH] simply transferred $10Bn of funds that Iraq had received in exchange under the oil-for-food programme out of a New York bank, denominated in dollars, and into a European bank converting it to the euro currency in the process.
At the same time he further snubbed the U.S. dollar and began trading oil not in dollars, but in euros, thereby cutting the U.S. further out of the financial loop.
Both of these 'threats'' were rectified by the United States administration less than 3 months after the US led invasion. Bank funds were converted back to dollars (de-valuing it for the Iraqi people by 13% in the process), oil resumed trading in dollars and President Bush appeared on an aircraft carrier to the proclamation "Mission Accomplished".
Read more > The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War with Iraq
The BBC has finally gone public with news that the war in Iraq was determined well in advance of the date that both Bush and Blair were publicly announcing. Unfortunately it has latched on to only half the story [article] by referring to a memo that puts the date of this decision at January 2003.
The Sunday Times beat the BBC to the story some ten months ago however, providing the first half of the story on May 1st 2005 when it published details of a similar memo [article]. This first memo stated that intelligence would have to be fitted around the facts in order to convince the world that a war in Iraq was necessary. This first memo dated 23rd July 2002 shows that the decision for an invasion was made far earlier than both men publicly declare. Now read the full, economic reasons behind this decision here.
See also related articles:
 Blair 'made secret US Iraq pact' - BBC
The President is said to have told Mr Blair the US was thinking of flying U2 spy planes with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours. If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach.
Mr Blair replied he was "solidly with the President and ready to do whatever it took to disarm Saddam". Read full story: Blair 'backed Iraq war in January 2003' - Telegraph
Iraqi civilians killed: 32,600-35,700 as of 1 March
Police: 1,900. Source: Iraq Body Count campaign group
US soldiers killed: More than 2,300
Other armed forces killed: 205 (103 of whom British)
US forces now in Iraq: 138,000 (UK: 7,800)
Iraqi forces: 235,000 Source: UK defence ministry
Oil production: 1.8m barrels a day. Pre-war: 2.5m
Iraq funding needed to 2007: $55bn (UN+US estimates). Pledged: $38bn
Cost of war to US taxpayer: $248bn.
Source: National Priorities Project based on congressional appropriations
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