> but we didn't need their oil The problem is that oil is sold into a global market, so even if a nation produces as much oil as it consumes, if there is a sh

> but we didn't need their oil The problem is that oil is sold into a global market, so even if a nation produces as much oil as it consumes, if there is a shortage of oil, the global prices go up, and then your own oil prices go up. So your economy can be thrown into a recession and your standard of living will decline due to Iraq's oil being taken out of the world market even if you don't need to import any oil from Iraq. For this reason, the US sought to control all global oil suppliers, wherever they may be, and whomever they sell oil to. Yes, it's an unsustainable, insane, geopolitical strategy -- but in the heady days of post cold-war hegemony, US foreign policy became controlled by neocon ideologues who thought that absolute control over the middle east was an achievable and moral goal. The result of this policy is millions of dead civilians, functioning secular societies that have been destroyed and handed over to warring religious clans, and global chaos from Libya to Afghanistan.