To be fair: oil being fungible means that it doesn't much matter who gets Iraqi production or the direct profits from it. So long as that oil can be produced an

To be fair: oil being fungible means that it doesn't much matter who gets Iraqi production or the direct profits from it. So long as that oil can be produced and sold by a regime not under international sanctions, it will increase market supply thus lowering price and giving the market a little more wiggle room to absorb supply shocks. Which are goals much more in-line with American defense strategy in the region as a whole. So while the view of our having invaded Iraq to steal their oil remains naive, it's hard to argue that the US receives no benefits from that oil being produced by a non-sanctioned (non-Saddam) regime.