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IT'S OIL page 87

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1996-97 SEASON

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OCT. 9 - NOV. 3

ecONSPO,p,,

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DEC. 11- JAN. 12

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FEB. 26 - MAR. 23

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APR. 30 -JUNE 1

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learned that Saddam was killing
opposition political forces in Kur-
distan, Washington retaliated by
attacking Saddam's air-defense
system.
Washington had been private-
ly working to cement political re-
lations between different Kurdish
factions. As in the past, the CIA
had provided military training to
certain Kurdish groups and de-
fectors from Saddam's army.
Once Saddam moved ground
troops against dissidents in the
Iraqi north, Washington's only ef-
fective reply was to clip the wings
of his air-defense system in the
south. Washington did not bomb
the oil fields in the north and it
did not send in ground troops to
find and kill Saddam.
For Saddam, this was a no-
brainer. He used the historic
fragmentation of the Kurdish
tribal community to strengthen
his position in Iraq's oil rich re-
gions. Whether Iraq sells oil now
or in the future, it is far better for
Saddam to have his proxies mak-
ing local decisions.
Saddam, who only five years
ago showered Tel Aviv with mis-
siles, demonstrated again that
despite military loses in the Gulf
war, he could regenerate his au-
thority. His move against the
weaker Kurds gave his army, and
particularly his Republican
Guardsm an easy victory. Since
Saddam bases his rule on fear,
intimidation, and killing of op-
ponents, a loyal army and brutal
security services are mandatory.
Giving his army a diversion from
recent signs of discontent was a
wise move. Once Washington de-
cided to attack his air-defense sys-
tems, he vilified Washington
while defending Iraqi national
pride and territorial integrity.
The confrontation with Bagh-
dad was one more indication of
Washington's acute interest in
Middle Eastern oil. After the
1979 fall of the Shah in Iran and
the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan, President Carter
declared the Persian Gulf with
its oil reserves to be a vital U.S.
interest. When Iran threatened
to interdict oil shipments from
the Gulf in 1987, President Rea-
gan re-flagged Kuwaiti tankers.
In 1990, when Saddam Hussein
threatened to eradicate Kuwait
and heavily influence oil produc-
tion quotas and the price of oil,
President Bush fulfilled the same
foreign policy objective of pro-
tecting access to Middle Eastern
oil.
Since the Gulf War, President
Clinton has sought to keep Iraq
in shackles while creating a Per-
sian Gulf naval fleet specifically
geared toward protecting oil ac-
cess.
If consistency is the barome-
ter, a bi-partisan American for-
eign policy objective has emerged
where Washington is willing to
lead the world in defense of its oil
interests. 1.1