A war that is really about oil.
	A Daily Telegraph Blog, 12th August, 2008

	By Janet Daley
	Now that we have a war on our hands that really is "all about oil", where are the protesters? Why are there not throngs of outraged demonstrators outside the Russian embassy demanding that the world put a stop to that country's imperialist aggression in Georgia? Why are the likes of Tony Benn not popping up all over the media to condemn the sinister self-serving motives of a country which is clearly determined to maintain its grip on the oil supplies of a region that it regards as its own moral property?
	The pipeline which carries oil through Georgia, avoiding Russia
	When the United States overthrew a homicidal dictatorship in Iraq, it was vilified by half the world: its alleged interest in promoting democracy and freedom was described as a mere hypocritical front for its real motive which was to control the country's oil supply.
	Given the recent history of terrorist activity emanating from the Middle East, and the immediate danger that it represented to America and Europe, the "all about oil" argument was a maliciously simplistic account of the US action in Iraq and Afghanistan . Whereas it is a straightforward, virtually indisputable explanation of  Russia's invasion of Georgia which is a democratic country. So, I ask again, where are the street marches and the liberal condemnations?
	The only comment I can make on this is that the world is recovering from the bout of extreme optimism and anti-realism it faced on the culmination of the Cold War.