I disagree about the importance of which currency oil is traded in, some links for those interested in the possible side effects of going from dollar to euro;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Oil_Bourse
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CLA410A.html
http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/2314.cfm
What are the geopolitical ambitions of Iran ?
So far, we have had one of their decision makes voice off about one of their neighbours, no difference to any of our leaders doing the same thing about how we are going to go in and sort out some other country..
We all also know that politicans tend to say one thing and do another.
If Iran had more of an economic symbiotic relationship with its neighbours, it would have less reasons to want to upset them, so sanctions tend to hurt the situation rather than improve it in my view..
> Instead we let them sell it for whatever they can get and
> keep the money.
Actually.. don't they only keep something like 17% of the money I seem to recal, and has that strike ever ended in the main refinary in Iraq ? (Last I heard it was still going and as a consquence Isreal was benefiting from the stuff going in their direction..)
The price of petrol since the US went in has gone up 300%, for all of Saddams faults, he at least helped provide cheap fuel for his people..
We liked Saddam when it suited us, and people are beginning to notice that you do need a firm hand to control the local population in Iraq, so whilst Saddam welded a rod of iron, it was necessary to keep his country together.
You only have to look to such places as the UK to see what effect a more liberal approach to law and order has on decent citizens.
If you speak with actual good citizens from Iraq, you soon discover that many miss the old days, and many of the ones that do not, are themselves former criminals !
Nowdays hospitals go short of supplies, fuel is expensive, local gangs are beginning to run the neigbbourhoods, its starting to sound like the UK...