The Global Situation

"And you haven't forgotten the trigger for the First Gulf War, have you?"

"You mean Kuwait?"

Blair said seriously, "That's right. Kuwait, which Iraq invaded, used to be a British protectorate. Even after gaining independence, British and American influence never left.

"For small Middle Eastern countries like these to join the United Nations as emirates and become internationally recognized independent entities, they did not rely on geopolitics or powerful militaries. They relied on oil profits.

"In the Middle East, countries with vast territories may not necessarily produce as much oil as these small nations. Do you think the great powers could calmly accept that reality?"

"Probably not," Henry said somewhat sheepishly as he looked at his newly promoted squad leader.

Blair grew more impassioned as he spoke. "Exactly! Even if most of these small countries' profits were claimed by Europe and America, their territories were tiny and their populations small. The oil that leaked through the fingers of Western conglomerates was enough to give them, with their minimal burdens, an extremely comfortable life.

"You can imagine how furious the neighboring powers were at their existence. If those prime oil-producing regions were in their hands, the oil profits could be used to subsidize their other impoverished regions.

"But the Western powers, led by the United Kingdom, made such an unfair division of the Middle East. It eventually led Iraq to invade Kuwait and burn vast numbers of Kuwaiti oil fields.

"Judging by Iraq's actions, they clearly understood that they could never occupy, much less annex, Kuwait for long. So they chose to destroy Kuwait's oil fields, reduce oil production, drive up prices, and make a profit from it—"

The profits from commodities futures such as oil were not what ordinary people imagined. Other industries increased profits by cutting costs, expanding production