Iraq, the importance of Oil in the global Economy

Oil is Blood.

Doves use the phrase “No Blood For Oil” as a mantra of higher moral clarity in their justification for being against military aggression or policymaking in the Middle East for the protection of world oil supplies. What liberals and anti-war fanatics fail to grasp is the importance of oil in the global economy; oil is blood. Oil is the lifeblood of industry and trade, without it the gears of capitalism and prosperity would cease to turn. Possible nuclear blackmail of Middle Eastern oil would be the world’s problem, oil is not, specifically, some uniquely American “indulgence”. The economic effects of ransomed oil would be far-reaching and devastating. The cost of doing business would skyrocket; businesses would increase prices for goods and services as well as enact sweeping layoffs of employees to remain profitable. A scourge of exorbitant prices, severe unemployment, and a deflated world economy would cost lives in America. But the hardest hit area would not be America or Western Europe, but the developed world that is so dependant on our products and services. So if you don’t think Oil is blood, tell that to the sick starving African who won’t get food or medicine because we can’t afford to ship it to them.

Drew Condon, COM 03′

617.548.0663 drewcon@bu.edu