To some extent but it’s really not that important. Oil gets traded for all kinds of things besides dollars, it’s never been so big a deal that the US would engineer a very dumb war over it. Maybe there were some for whom it was a motivating factor in their support for attacking Iraq, but by and large the animating force was not concern about what currency Iraqi oil exports are traded for. It makes no real difference to anything, it’s not significant.
I’m not sold on the Iraq invasion being about Iraq selling oil not in USD, but you’re drastically underplaying the significance of the petrodollar, especially 20 years ago.
It’s complicated to explain but the easiest summary is “neoconservative ideology” and a certain kind of postmodern imperialism that came to dominate US elite culture following 9/11. Read up on PNAC if you want to dig into it more.
To some extent but it’s really not that important. Oil gets traded for all kinds of things besides dollars, it’s never been so big a deal that the US would engineer a very dumb war over it. Maybe there were some for whom it was a motivating factor in their support for attacking Iraq, but by and large the animating force was not concern about what currency Iraqi oil exports are traded for. It makes no real difference to anything, it’s not significant.
I’m not sold on the Iraq invasion being about Iraq selling oil not in USD, but you’re drastically underplaying the significance of the petrodollar, especially 20 years ago.
What was the animating force for the invasion?
It’s complicated to explain but the easiest summary is “neoconservative ideology” and a certain kind of postmodern imperialism that came to dominate US elite culture following 9/11. Read up on PNAC if you want to dig into it more.