Nelson admits oil was the reason for the invasion of Iraq

This is something that all but the most naive believed since the beginning but one of the Aussie polies has gone and admitted it and no-doubt upset his party leader and PM, John Howard. But I think, since we all knew this was the real reason behind the invasion, there won't be any tangible increase in pressure to withdraw troops from Iraq as a result of this statement. After all, the common westerner values lower petrol/gas prices above a lot of things and so he'll happily continue to ignore the associated cost.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22027741-38201,00.html

Nelson's oil claims spread around the world

July 06, 2007 11:29am
Article from: AAP

DEFENCE Minister Brendan Nelson's admission that oil is one of the reasons for staying in Iraq has made international headlines.
Dr Nelson's comments have been run on BBC news in the UK, the al-Jazeera website and the ABC news website in the United States.

He told ABC Radio yesterday that the Middle East was an important supplier of oil and Australians had to consider what would happen if troops withdrew prematurely.

Prime Minister John Howard said it was "stretching it a bit'' to interpret the comments as meaning that the war on Iraq was about oil.

But the BBC said Dr Nelson "has admitted that securing oil supplies is a key factor behind Australian troops being in Iraq''.

Al-Jazeera made the same claim, adding that Mr Howard had sharply contradicted his minister.

And America's ABC said Dr Nelson's inclusion of global energy security as a reason for keeping troops in Iraq seemed likely to add weight to war protesters' arguments that the 2003 invasion was more an oil grab than a bid to uncover weapons of mass destruction.

Treasurer Peter Costello today said that preventing Iraq becoming an al-Qaeda controlled terrorist state was the most important reason for keeping Australian troops in the country.

But Labor leader Kevin Rudd said the government had compounded the oil supply problem in the Middle East by becoming involved in the war in Iraq.

"They've compounded the oil problem as a consequence of their engagement of the war through the emboldenment of Iran,'' Mr Rudd told ABC Radio.