DaveR: "there is very little oil coming out of Iraq and there is...

DaveR: "there is very little oil coming out of Iraq and there is not likely to be much without huge spending to upgrade the infrastructure."

Yes but did the Bush team know that before they invaded? The experts said it would take years to rebuild Iraq's oil production infrastructure, but Bush and Rummy were confidently assuring the American people that Iraqi oil would pay for reconstruction.

That was about US$200 billion ago.

But the fact that the infrastructure is in bad shape does not change the underlying motive. Both Bush and Kerry have said the US is in there for the long haul - Iraq is effectively a bipartisan issue. Oil is the prize and it I'm afraid it will take a lot of pain to persuade the US leadership to relinquish it.