GULF WAR: Some thoughts about American Kleptocracy & Petroleum Politics

SETTING: Four friends were chattering over dinner while discussing American imperialism.
Tim reads a short ditty that he wrote after the 1991 the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In the background, 
the television chattered away throwing a harsh light onto the cramped dining room.
The room entered an uneasy silence as Tim theatrically read the following poem -


	Yahoo, Cowboys!
	Blast dat dere varmit, Saddam Hussein!
	Isn't it fun ta kill fer oil
	An' watch da whole damn world go up in flame?

	Now I dun't much reckon 'bout politicks
	Err understan' komplex dings
	Bud I know wun dis fer certain:
	Any fool pushin' petrol prices too hi
	'ill get lots ah bullets & smart bombs 
	raining down over dare skies.

	Lots ah people fight fer freedom
	Un a few fer ideology
	But Amerika kills fer petroleum –
	Cus dat equals wealth & power
	in the sacred calculus of Corporate-Think.

A Post-Mortem Conversation:

Ted:     (setting his cup down on the table slowly, then raising his eyebrows) So the 
         Gulf War was all about petroleum? Was it essentially a massive, costly fuel heist?

Terri:   (looking at Ted with a weary shrug) Basically. Ignoring the rhetoric about 'liberation' 
         and 'defense of sovereignty,' wasn't the core motive petrol access? However, we 
         should also consider the human element.  The mutual animosity between Bush and 
         Hussein certainly clouded their judgment. Once people become too emotional, 
         it is easy to lose all common sense.

Kris:    (furrowing her eyebrows while gazing downwards)  Why do ordinary people have to 
         pay the price for the stupidity and the greed of their leaders?

Sam:     (taking a long, uneasy quaff of his beer) That's how history works, isn't it? 
         Armed conflicts arise over and over in blood-soaked cycles that are difficult to escape.


=================================================================================
from _AmeriSong: Poetry, Art, & Dialogs about Amerika_ by T Newfields
SUMMARY:  A rant about the American invasion of Iraq and its insatiable thirst for oil.	
KEYWORDS: 1991 Iraq invasion, petroleum addiction, klepto-capitalism, Persian Gulf War, 
          petrol-politics, war for profit, Saddam Hussein

Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955)
Begun: 1997 in Shizuoka, Japan / Finished: 2025 in Shizuoka, Japan
Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted

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TRANSLATIONS

DEUTSCH:  https://www.tnewfields.info/de/golf.htm
FRANÇAIS: https://www.tnewfields.info/fr/golfe.htm
ESPAÑOL:  https://www.tnewfields.info/es/golfo.htm
NIHONGO:  https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/wangan.htm