By David Boyle
Gargoyle co-editor-in-chief
Posted Tuesday, March 7, 2006, The OG, opinions

Anybody who believes we are losing the war in Iraq is either naïve or truly ignorant of what our government hopes to accomplish.

Many Americans still believe we went to war to free the Iraqi people from tyranny, and to establish a westernized democratic state that is an American ally. Skeptics assert that the war was actually an attempt to boost profit for American oil corporations by giving them oil contracts in the reconstructed Iraq.

As Iraq descends into chaos and civil war, it appears as if none of these objectives has been accomplished. Republicans are becoming nervous while liberals joke about the stupidity and incompetence of our government. The joke is on them. The neoconservatives who are in charge know exactly what they are doing.

We are winning the war in Iraq for two reasons: Oil prices remain high, and the United States has destroyed a regime which was not a threat to our country but to our favorite ally, Israel.

Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld know that controlling the Iraqi oil industry would be impossible, so they set out to do the second best thing: destroying it. Iraq is an economically unstable nation that has failed to maintain its oil production throughout the war, which raises oil prices for Americans. Even if oil companies aren't pumping crude from the Iraqi deserts, the oil they have secured already is worth more because Iraq is exporting less.

The Israel lobby groups have far-reaching power in Washington that is unseen by the public. Destabilizing Iraq into three different ethnic and religious factions means that instead of fighting Israel, Iraq is tied up in internal power struggles.

The only way there can be a unified Iraq is to have a dictator like Saddam Hussein. Iraq itself is a very artificial state made up of Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds who, if given the option, would not live in the same state. Saddam didn't give them that option. He unified the three factions through tyranny, and as his power grew he became a growing threat to Israel, which was unacceptable to the powers that be in Washington.

We have to give our government credit where it is due; these are brilliant, but ruthless, people. Just as we fought the war in Vietnam to effectively wipe a strategic nation off the map, we are doing the same in Iraq and experiencing tremendous success. In the end, oil companies, investors, and Israel will reap the benefits.