Why are we in Iraq?

Joe Grossberg, my coworker whose blog you should be reading, pointed out an interesting take on the war in Iraq that’s worth a read.  My favorite excerpt:

"What Iraq has that Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia do not is not oil, but
fresh water. In fact, Iraq has almost all of the fresh water in the
region. It is water that determines life in the Middle East and there’s
not a lot of it. The two largest rivers, Tigris and Euphrates, flow
down the core of Iraq before bending towards Iran to share those waters
briefly with Iran before meeting the ocean. No other country gets so
much of a taste unless Iraq agrees. Iran has little fresh water as does
Syria. Saudi Arabia has almost none. It is one thing to control oil
fields. The wealth from that resource can buy desalination plants that
give your expanding population the water to survive. If the oil tap is
cut off, the economies of the west would begin to wither and die within
three months. Cut off water and populations begin to die within three
days."

Oil, indeed.  The five reasons given for controlling a foothold in Iraq are none of what has been talked about in the debate with the public.  As you read it, it makes sense, and makes you wonder, do we ever really debate the real reasons for any US policy anymore?  Or do we merely debate the most convenient points?