Iraq

Abstract

Working as a midlevel Pentagon official in 1977, Paul Wolfowitz undertook a study examining how the United States would defend the Persian Gulf region in the event of a Soviet seizure of the oil fields. However, Wolfowitz also asked a second question that had rarely been discussed by U.S. policy makers: what would happen if another country within the Persian Gul. were to threaten the oil fields? In particular, what would the United States do if Iraq were to invade Kuwait or Saudi Arabia? At the time of writing, Wolfowitz concluded that Iraq not only had the capability to use force against its neighbors but that its military prowess may cause other countries in the region to align with Saddam to protect their own interests. In sum, Iraq had the potential to become a regional power; the United States needed to be strong enough to preclude this. It was not concerns about human rights or democracy that motivated Wolfowitz’ initial interest in Iraq but worries about energy and aspiring regional powers.²

The … enormous resources of the Persian Gulf, the power that those sources represent—it’s power. It’s not just that we need gas for our cars, it’s that anyone who controls those resources has enormous capability to build up military forces.¹