>My guess remains OIL, with side-benefits like
>- making MIGHT even more apparent to anyone who harbours strange ideas to the contrary
>- trying out new weapons in actual field situations
>- making other nations a little more compliant to U.S. wishes
>- permitting exit from Saudi Arabia, which has all kinds of side benefits itself
>- others?... I'm sure there are many.
I had forgotten about the "weapons" part. I think this is an important consideration for two reasons: 1) power for the U.S., 2) money from weapons sales.
Difference in opinions hath cost many millions of lives: for instance, whether flesh be bread, or bread be flesh; whether whistling be a vice or a virtue; whether it be better to kiss a post, or throw it into the fire... (from Gulliver's Travels)
