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[/size](CNN)Before departing for his first trip to Baghdad as US Defense Secretary, James Mattis told reporters, "We're not in Iraq to seize anybody's oil."[/size]His comments appeared to be a departure from President Donald Trump, who since taking office has made controversial comments about Iraq and its oil.
To the victor belong the spoils," Trump told members of the intelligence community, saying he first argued this case for "economic reasons." He said it made sense as a counterterrorism approach to defeating the IS group "because that's where they made their money in the first place.""So we should have kept the oil," he said. "But, OK, maybe you'll have another chance."The statement ignores the precedent of hundreds of years of American history and presidents who have tended to pour money and aid back into countries the United States has fought in major wars. The U.S. still has troops in Germany and Japan, with the permission of those nations, but did not take possession of their natural resources. And taking Iraq's reserves, the world's fifth largest, would require an immense investment of resources and manpower in a country that the United States couldn't quell after spending more than $2 trillion and deploying at one point more than 170,000 troops.
