Like McCain said, 100 years

We went to war with Iraq because taking out Saddam was step one in the Grand Neo-Con Strategy to remake the Middle East into our democratic image, albeit one more oil soaked and darkly complexioned. That the Administration’s buddies in the oil industry could land a windfall, well that was a bonus.

BAGHDAD — Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

But that is really just half of the story.

Any Western oil official who comes to Iraq would require heavy security, exposing the companies to all the same logistical nightmares that have hampered previous attempts, often undertaken at huge cost, to rebuild Iraq’s oil infrastructure.

And work in the deserts and swamps that contain much of Iraq’s oil reserves would be virtually impossible unless carried out solely by Iraqi subcontractors, who would likely be threatened by insurgents for cooperating with Western companies.

And now we have can stay in Iraq indefinitely, under the aegis of protecting Western commercial interests. This is going to working out swimmingly.