Iraq is in shambles, Iran enriches uranium as the US and Europe engage in balance of power games

During the first Iraq war, Iraq showed a willigness to invade Kuwait and threaten Saudi Arabia. For ten years after the first Iraq war, Iraq continued to defy the world and threaten the stability of the Middle East. When the oil-for-food program showed evidence of impropriety and Iraq refused nuclear inspectors, the US finally determined that Iraq was headed in the wrong direction. The second Iraq war was about oil (Greenspan, 2007). More precisely, it was a war about attempting to ensure that no-one (Iraq) could place a stranglehold on oil within the Middle East. The invasion of Iraq came at a high price. We traded the country stability of Iraq and threat of Saddam for instability in Iraq with no threat from Saddam. Was it the correct choice? We might never know.

Europe though disagreed with us. France's Villepin stated that they disagreed with our direction in Iraq because the outcomes could not be quantified. However, there are other issues. Both France and Germany were large trading partners with Iraq and both had trade in excess of $1trillion with Iraq before the war. There were many reasons why Europe did not want a war with Iraq. Today Europe, China, and Australia all have strong corporate (primarily energy) interests in Iraq's neighbor of Iran and Iran is openly engaged in uranium enrichment. Domestically, Europe is becoming more dependent on Russian energy as its North Seas oil fields decline.