the power of resources

[crwth]

From all the points other members have posted, it seems the majority is due to strategic interests in play. The strategy is the impact it has on the global economy; most of it is because of energy.

In economics, I believe there's an Energy Independence factor and Energy Security. If one of the two clashes, there would still be instability in terms of oil prices, and it would definitely hurt the economy. One party says it's secured, but the economy says otherwise because it is still affected by global prices.

Isn't it that there are other things beyond oil? Like rare earth minerals? That could be a factor as well beyond oil.

[DanWalker]

The United States is indeed little dependent on oil from the Persian Gulf. Especially after they seized control of the Venezuelan oil. There is also the issue of gas, which is much more acute for the world, but equally unimportant for the United States. However, the most important resource, the petrodollar, is under threat here. If a country has no choice but to switch from paying for oil in dollars to paying in another currency (for example, yuan), then this will happen. What if there are many such countries? This would be a disaster for the very foundation of the United States' power, the petrodollar. Trump sees this danger.

After all, the attack on Iran was aimed at strengthening the petrodollar's position through physical control of oil. And it led to the opposite result - the risks of an alternative oil-yuan system.Of course, Trump can even sacrifice the Gulf oil and retreat, but he cannot sacrifice the petrodollar. In the meantime, that's exactly the trend. The threat of the destruction of the petrodollar monopoly has never been so great.

I also just expressed my view on this conflict in another thread, and I agree that the main cause of this war is the threat to the dominance of the petrodollar. However, this is not just what Trump wants, I believe this is also what America want.
It could be said that this conflict is inevitable, regardless of who becomes president this term, not just Trump. Because once the petrodollar system weakens, it will directly threaten the US superpower status.

This isnt the first time the petrodollar has been threatened, but this time the situation seem more serious because their opponent is China. The world's 2largest economy, and supported by the BRICS.

[Findingnemo]

Even if US got oil resources, the cost of war will surely end up in a disaster, they will require lot of work and more tax burden on the people just to fund the war and this is not the first time though. Iran wants to fight because it is their country while Israel just don't want any country to be powerful in their region. This is surely affecting the countries either with lack of oil or costing them money and lives, hope they just end it soon and take their business with diplomatic approach not by force.

[slapper]

What the US has isn't confidence that it's distance. Geographic distance, economic distance, emotional distance. They take 60% of their crude from Canada via pipelines that already exist. They produce record amounts domestically. When the Strait of Hormuz closes (which it basically has), the pain hits Tokyo and Seoul and Mumbai before it ever hits Kansas.

I think your observation about resources needs to be pushed even further. The really uncomfortable bit isn't that the US can afford to fight. It's that the US can afford to allow the fighting to take place. There's a difference and it is important.

Qatar is literally sitting on half of the same gas field got struck. South Pars on the Iranian side, North Dome on the Qatari side. Same geological body, same molecules, divided up by the fiction of an imaginary line drawn by people who have never spoken to the earth. And now Iran is hitting Ras Laffan because it sees any damage to South Pars as something that should be proportionately answered. Qatar didn't start this. Qatar was attempting to keep out of it.

The textbooks won't state it bluntly enough. The countries with the resources rarely have a choice of whether they're in the war or not.

Trump requested $200 billion in new Pentagon money. Called it a small price to pay. The people with the resources initiate wars. The people whom are near the resources absorb them.

[Darker45]

Of course. The mathematics of this war was all carefully done before the first bomb was dropped. I'm not sure if they're getting some things wrong or certain developments surprised them along the way, but I'm sure the US isn't sacrificing anything for whatever selfish goal they have in mind in this war, except perhaps the lives of their own people, which I guess they don't value enough. I don't think they'd create this violence if it results into making their daily lives uncomfortable.

[tabas]

While there's the new oil of this era which is data. It seems that nothing beats the traditional oil that powers all sectors that requires energy. And whoever controls or stops it, has the balls to wage war because they know that it's going to affect almost everybody even those countries which are not part of the war but, relies on the oil that comes from the supply in that gulf. Now, they're talking about the biggest and most important oil infrastructure in Qatar that Iran's has attacked and threatens to do more. For them, there's no coming back anymore.

[DYOR+BTC]

Even if US got oil resources, the cost of war will surely end up in a disaster, they will require lot of work and more tax burden on the people just to fund the war and this is not the first time though. Iran wants to fight because it is their country while Israel just don't want any country to be powerful in their region. This is surely affecting the countries either with lack of oil or costing them money and lives, hope they just end it soon and take their business with diplomatic approach not by force.

Yes the only thing all involved in the ongoing war stands to gain  is disaster and increase in the cost of living for citizens as they will be made to work more and earn little as that is the only way of recovering from the war faster. Since the existence of the ongoing war the cost of living has increased without an additional benefit attached to there suffering but just constant negative effects on citizens all for no just cost because they can't tell any benefit both nations stands to get at the end of the war apart from when the other accept defeat and become submissive to the other which we all knows has no significant impacts in the economy of the other, so why risking the nations resources, properties and lifes of citizens for no just cost.