Iraq: Déjà vu

Oil is the source of Iraq’s problems. In 2003, after Iraq was invaded, I wrote an article entitled, “The future of Iraq: Democracy or Oilocracy.”1 I argued then, that the Bush administration had an historic opportunity to diversify Iraq’s economy and remove its oil dependency. Without economic diversification, “a new Saddam Hussein sneaks into power. Diversification is the kind of ‘preemptive strike’ that will prevent future dictators from taking over Iraq.” Without economic diversification, “In a few years, people will look at Operation Iraqi Freedom as one of the biggest blunders in U.S. history.” Now, we know how true these predictions were: Iraq became completely dependent on oil revenues, and another dictator snuck into power.