Gas and Iraq: The Iraqi War's Effect on Gasoline Prices

The recent incline in gas prices throughout America can be accredited to a bevy of causes, among those being war, economical distrust, climate changes, travel, supply and demand issues, natural disasters, political unrest, and the decrease of outsourcing, just to name a few. During the summer of 2006, gasoline prices reached an unprecedented high, with some areas of the nation seeing the cost skyrocket to four dollars or more per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline. Just three years before in 2003, after a jump in the cost of gasoline, prices only reached a national average of $1.71 per gallon (CNN, 2003), which seemed outrageous to most citizens at the time. If only they had known what the future had in store for them.

Week after week, the country stood by and watched as the gas station attendants climbed up ladders and continued to replace the plastic number plates with higher and higher digits. Theories arose, but there was no clear cut answer as to why the numbers were growing. Bleeding heart liberals broadly pegged it to President Bush and his apparent inability to run the country. Staunch conservatives placed blame simply on the Middle East. Those stuck on the middle of the fence attributed it to inflation and other economical issues, while conspiracy theorists blamed the ascension on the corrupt power and greed of oil tycoons. After Hurricane Katrina tore through the southeast, the cost of gasoline jumped again, giving everyone a new scapegoat for the rise.

With prices higher than they had ever been, even through inflation adjusted comparison, the entire nation was bracing itself for a repeat of the gasoline rations of the seventies. Though there was much speculation on the subject, it is quite clear that President Bush's involvement in Iraq is at least one of, if not the definitive cause for the ghastly price at the pump.

On March 20, 2003, President George W. Bush led 300,900 US and British troops to invade Iraq in a so-called attempt to bring freedom to the country, though many simply wrote these attempts off as an effort to finish what H.W. had started during his presidency. Operation Iraqi Freedom was declared a mere 17 months after the hijacking attacks on the World Trade Center, when the majority of American citizens felt that al-Qaeda, more specifically Osama Bin Laden, was the main focal point concerning homeland security and the safety of the nation. President Bush, however, had his sights set on a different target - Saddam Hussein.

George H.W. Bush was elected president of the United States of America in 1988 and took office on January 20, 1989. Less than two years into his presidency, on January 17, 1991, he led troops into Iraq, launching a series of air attacks in order to remove Iraqi militia from U.S. ally Kuwait. Once he had succeeded in removing Iraqi troops, Bush pulled out of the ordeal, citing innumerable human and political costs as the reason. Much of the United States was appalled and felt that he had let Hussein slip through his fingers when he easily could have eradicated the problem, if he had so desired. This questionable act placed the Bush legacy under scrutiny for years to come. Nearly ten years later, when George W. came into office, his family name was still being criticized for the "mistake" his father had made. Once the 9-11 attacks occurred, W. saw the perfect window of opportunity to finish up what Daddy Bush had started.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, the American people were in a state of frenzy and concern for their safety. A natural response after such a tragedy, with the casualty count reaching nearly 3000, many people felt that national security was at an all-time low. The political world was cloaked in distrust, reportedly knowing much more about the attacks than they led the American public to believe. President Bush led American soldiers into Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, where the citizens all agreed we should be fighting. This alleged War on Terrorism quickly changed streams when President Bush heard talk of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. With the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the U.S. military found there to be no weapons of mass destruction in the country, but continued to send troops in to supposedly bring freedom to the Iraqis.

Operation Iraqi Freedom, a subsidiary of the War on Terrorism, was viewed by many as an attempt at world domination, converting one nation at a time through Americanization. Though President Bush claimed he had the best interest of the Iraqi people at heart, it was apparent that he felt a sense of human superiority and decided that the only way a person could live their lives freely and happily was by complying to the American way of life. The adverse effect of this attempt was nothing more than the taking of the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens.

Along with the invasion of Iraq, the price of oil took a considerable leap. Though still under two dollars per gallon of gasoline, it was much more than America was accustomed to shelling out for their basic transportation needs. President Bush openly attributed this rise to the invasion of Iraq, stating that it was a small price to pay in order to obtain freedom and peace of mind.

Gasoline prices stayed on a slow but steady incline until the spring of 2006, when they saw a considerable increase. Price were reaching in excess of four dollars per gallon in some parts of the U.S., and the American people were having trouble understanding what had caused this sudden jump.

September 2005 brought with it the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, which disrupted the production, refining, importation and transporting of oil in the south. Gas prices reached an average price of $3.04 per gallon (CNN, 2006) in the week following Katrina, but then ell back down to a more familiar number. Throughout the spring and summer of 2006, prices continued to rise. Though the price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline traditionally does go up a few cents each summer to meet the demands of travel-hungry tourists, the 2006 hike was unlike anything seen before.

It appeared to many that the more President Bush became involved in the Middle East, the higher gas prices seemed to be. Coincidentally enough, according to USA Today (2006), President Bush's approval rate has run the opposite of the price of gasoline. As the cost of oil rose, his approval rate fell. There is an obvious correlation between Bush's need for compensation in Iraq and the price of gas.

Though President Bush has many loyalists who agree wholeheartedly in his decisions to invade and corrupt nations, there are at least an equal number who find his choices to be irresponsible and ill-fitting to our nation. Being the oil man he is, Bush most likely sees no problem with rising gasoline prices, and perhaps even condones the hikes. There are, of course, other contributing factors to the recent increase, but it appears that the president's gratuitous involvement in Iraq and lack of beneficial planning has had the most profound effect.