Big Picture Thinking

[Chaerophon]

The long term oil opinion in your post, while it has merit, strikes me as actually missing the bigger picture: global, not US, economy. If the global cost of oil goes down, the global economy may be a bit more robust. However, Mexico and Venezuela stand to lose a bit if the cost to produce goes down . . .

Indeed, fair enough. However, I tend to believe that if such a move will be of such benefit to the other nations of the world, they would have been much more likely to hop on board... Perhaps the costs outweigh the benefits for the rest of the world? Or... nah... well, it could be perceived as evidence that the war is just a tad reckless... :)

I would still argue that in a free economy in a new Iraq, the nation which stands to benefit most in terms of a direct influx of dollars back home is the United States. "Elf Fina? Lukoil? What contracts? That was with the old regime... time to pay the piper. No more of this pandering crap, the big boys are in town now. Exxxxxcellent :)"