I have figured out what Bush's strategy is in the Middle East.

It is to bring chaos, economic ruin,unceasing terror to civilians and total devastation to all countries except our pet goats Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.During a period of ten years or more, Arabs will feel constant terror ( " paying them back for what they did to Israel") and will not be given a moment of rest. The Democracy they were promised will never happen unless they rise up and drive out our puppets like Mubarak, the Sauds and the Al Sabahs.

When the ruin is complete and all their wealth is drained away by the Bechtels and Halliburtons,we will leave.

so his domestic oil buddies can sell their oil at 50+/bbl instead of 25-30/bbl.

I think his policy is very simple.

1) Steal as much oil as we can before "Peak Oil" pushes the costs of recovery and refining way above the fuel value (i.e., "Pump Them Dry")

2) Keep Israel and the Palestinians at each other throats - but neither of them really "wins" - until there is nothing left to "win". Classic British Foreign Office "Balance of Power" model -- see F. William Engdahl's "A Century Of War : Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order" for a very good discussion of this game)

And, as you state, when the ruin is complete and all their wealth is drained away by the Bechtels and Halliburtons (and Big Oil - who Bechtel and Halliburton provide "Oil Field Services" for), we will leave.

Saddam will no longer sell Iraqi oil via the Euro.

A military foothold in the ME.

No countries will be able to buy Iraqi oil that the U.S. disapproves of.

The Oil Corps. are reaping huge profits.

Saudis are reaping huge profits.

beginning.This is why no one asks any questions about anything.

1) Raising CAFE (Oh my, we will lose Bonior's Macomb County "Reagan Democrats" if we raise CAFE. Dude, those Macomb County "Reagan Democrats" are the same folks that killed Vincent Chin)

2) Nothing on tail pipe emissions.

3) Nothing really on photovoltaics, crumbs on wind.

And even the Kennedy's are NIMBY's on wind turbines - Heck, If I can live with a Wind Turbine farm in the Altamont Mountains - and two Calpine generators ...

I think this pretty much sums it up.

They're happy to have the people there blowing each other up.

It's the "New World ODOR" alright.