Crude Interventions: The United States, Oil and the New World (Dis)Order

Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 8
Introduction......Page 10
1 | Iraq: seeking the riches of Babylon......Page 17
The rise of Saddam Hussein......Page 18
US–Iraqi relations in the 1980s......Page 25
The Gulf War and UN sanctions......Page 31
The US invasion and occupation......Page 38
The neo-liberal restructuring of Iraq......Page 50
Conclusion......Page 59
2 | Central Asia: the Silk Road strategy......Page 61
The Islamic revival......Page 65
Kazakhstan: the economic opening......Page 68
Azerbaijan: the new oil boom......Page 78
Turkmenistan: going against the flow......Page 85
Militarization of the region......Page 89
Conclusion......Page 97
3 | West Africa: exploiting the other gulf......Page 99
Nigeria: the land of no tomorrow......Page 100
Angola and the corrupting commodity......Page 116
Washington’s role in West Africa......Page 124
Conclusion......Page 129
4 | Colombia: feeding Washington’saddiction......Page 131
The roots of the conflict......Page 132
From drugs to terror......Page 136
The national security state......Page 146
The great oil giveaway......Page 156
The oil war in Arauca......Page 160
The oil war in Putumayo......Page 169
Conclusion......Page 173
5 | Venezuela: an alternative for the twenty-first century?......Page 176
Oil in the back yard......Page 177
The political reformation......Page 187
The Bolivarian revolution......Page 202
The US response......Page 214
Conclusion......Page 223
Conclusion......Page 226
1 Iraq......Page 232
2 Central Asia......Page 235
3 West Africa......Page 238
4 Colombia......Page 240
5 Venezuela......Page 245
Conclusion......Page 248
Bibliography......Page 249
Index......Page 250