Yes, the US wants that foothold because of oil. It's not because we wish to become rich off it, it's because oil is essential to keeping our economy stable. Keeping the region stable, or at least "stable" in America's best interests, is paramount.

Doesn't matter what anyone's opinion on our oil consumption is, even in the face of global warming. At this point in time, we need it.

Without oil our economy plummets and that affects the whole world. And we can't fix it anytime soon. I'm seeing hope, but it's painfully slow. FFS, trying to fix this mess bucks the richest interests on the planet. And if we guillotined every one of them, we'd still be in the same place.

I see a lot of talk around here calling talk of the "economy" bullshit, like those numbers only affect the rich, and fuck 'em. Like it or not, we all participate in the economy.

In turn, we're all hurt if it crashes. And that includes the rest of the world. Anyone here old enough to remember the gas station lines after the Iranian revolution?

And spare me talk of coulda/shoula/woulda. America could have done a dozen things better to avoid all this. We didn't. And here we are.