>>><snip>
>>> and (B) we didn't go there for the oil in the first place.
>>>
>>>Come on Daniel, you know that's not true. Oil is the reason for being there. Not to steal oil perhaps but certainly to try and ensure stability in the region so that the oil can keep flowing. Let's not try to shroud these events in terms of a humanitarian effort to enlighten the people of the world. This is a war motivated by economics. Nothing wrong with that per se as we all need to work and earn a living and energy is just a necessary part of that equation.
>>
>>Hoisted by my own petard. Yes we are there because of oil - that is the only reason most of the world really gives a damn regarding the Middle East. However, most of the left seems to think we are there to steal the oil, to feed the coffers of the Giant Oil Companies, to control the world supply for our own nefarious reasons. The implication is that we are only there for the oil, which I do not believe to be true.
>
>"Hoist", Dan, "hoist". < s >


You're right, that's the way it's used, but "hoist by my own petard" has to be one of the clumsiest phrases in the English language. It sounds like an anachronism (and may in fact be one). It sure isn't anything I would ever say out loud.