Seminar speakers say oil drives U.S. Mideast policy

American policy seeks to ensure that oil is traded in the dollar, a speaker said.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
LIBERTY -- Access to oil has been a driving force behind U.S. policy in the Middle East, said speakers at a seminar here.
"The focus is not on creating a stable region and creating democracy. The focus has been and remains control of oil resources -- not simply for U.S. oil companies, but to own the spigot," said Thomas Sabatini, an instructor in history at Youngstown State University.
The goal of American policy in the Middle East, he said, is to assure that other nations, including European countries, Russia and China, don't control the oil, which he described as "that one commodity that makes all the other commodities on the planet literally move."
MetroPlex seminar
The seminar, "The Making of the Modern Middle East -- Mandate for Tragedy," was Wednesday at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex, sponsored by the Valley Coalition for Peace and Justice.
This year's war in Iraq was about oil, Sabatini said. "It's about control of the region," he continued, noting that Iraq lies between oil rich Saudi Arabia and Iran. "It's about currency markets. Oil is now traded in the dollar. If OPEC decides to trade oil in the euro [European currency], you'd see a collapse of the American dollar on international currency exchanges," he explained.
"It's about propping up the dollar, which comes back to oil -- making sure that oil is traded in the dollar," he said.
In control
The war "establishes U.S. oil corporations in control of the largest immature oil fields on the planet and ensures that those oil companies and the regime in charge in Iraq will be trading in dollars," Sabatini continued. "Before the war, Iraq was trading in euros, basically thumbing its nose at the U.S."
By displacing French and Chinese oil interests in the region, the United States put itself in control of those resources, he said.
"Neo-conservatives are self-consciously remaking the world to be an imperial protectorate for the United States," he said. As to how U.S. policy in the Mideast should change, Sabatini called for support of "a cooperative world system that's not based on U.S. power."
Policy guides
Another speaker, Raymond Nakley Jr. of Youngstown, a spokesman for the Arab Community Center of Youngstown, said U.S. policy in the Middle East has been guided by three things: access to oil, support for Israel, and a desire to keep the region stable.
He said the United States could achieve all those goals and reduce terrorism if a viable Palestinian state is created.
"I want to see the Palestinian people get justice, and then the region and the world will be more secure," he said.
The goal of the U.S. government regarding oil is "to make sure it, at least, stays on the market in such a way that it doesn't damage us. We have a vested interest in seeing that that oil stays on the market, simply because, if it doesn't, the cost could go so high it could damage our economy. Plus our allies need that oil," Nakley said.
Israel "is important to this country because of domestic political considerations. Israel has very well-organized, well-funded and vociferous supporters, not just among Americans Jews, but now among Christian right-wing idealogues," Nakley added.