rainheart

The oil is just one of the many profiteering moves that make businesses want the war to continue. The others include reconstruction (which attracts a large array of different businesses) and arms manufacturers.

The reason gas prices are high is because they are run by unregulated businesses. Imagine if the demand for oil dropped (and we all started driving hybrids)- would the price drop? No, it would raise, they would have to make the customer somehow pay for the lost profits.

If the supply of oil was at an all-time high, would the prices drop? Even if they did, I don't believe they would drop as much as they really should. Incentive for higher profits would be the same reason.

The aim of business in the industrialized economies of the world at the moment isn't to provide the customer with a decent product at a reasonable price- it is to perpetually increase profits by any means necessary. The implications are literally killing thousands. But they are actively attempting to raise the complicity of the populations in their respective nations, and doing quite well too.

In line with Charlatan's last post- I do want to point out that I don't believe there is one sole think tank responsible for shaping policies in government and businesses. There are a lot of institutions who take up the task of outlining the actions to conduct and measures to take for the United States. For example, the Daily Show makes a habit of interviewing such people to give a glimpse of how they think, and last night they were interviewing Michael Mandelbaum and were discussing his book "The Case for Goliath".

I searched for a video of the interview but I couldn't find it. Had I been able to, I could easily give you a direct translation of the policies that Michael Mandelbaum was supporting. If I do find it, I will post a link, make a transcript, and tell you what the message behind every sentence he utters is.