From The Iraq Invasion in (An) Historical Perspective:

...the First and Second Gulf Wars should be seen as having to do mainly with cleaning up the ill effects of irregularly high oil prices for thirty years. The OPEC scam itself should be understood as an outgrowth of the Cold War. Its costs should be accounted as involving, not just a pair of global recessions, but the rise to power of wealthy states in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, free to do petty much as they pleased.

It is for that reason that Financial Times columnist Amity Shlaes wrote the other day that, when the time comes for reconstruction, "The single most important thing the US and Britain can do to facilitate stability is to privatize Iraq�s oil reserves � even if it means cutting deserving Kurdish leaders out of the bounty. And even if it means being accused of creating a �Texas on the Tigris.�"

She�s almost certainly right. Perhaps the Gulf Wars are best understood as being antitrust policy for oil � industrial reorganization by force in the aftermath of successful monetary stabilization.

Gee, I'm so smart. My thinking was, "It is about oil--and what's wrong with that?"