Airstrip One

Oil

No doubt there will be many, influenced by the modern need for a reductionist approach to foreign affairs, that will subscribe to a crude determinism and state the forthcoming war is all about oil. They will be right, in part, as Iraq's crude oil reserves form a huge bargaining chip in the postwar settlement. The reserves are the bribe to France, Russia and China, guaranteeing access in return for acceptance or acquiescence when the UN resolution is introduced to the Security Council.

It is not clear if the United States will be able to capitalise on these huge reserves in the short-term due to the deteriorating infrastructure but Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi National Congress leader, has already received his monthly salary for supporting a "US-led consortium" to develop the rundown oilfields.

Security is the key issue for the United States; cheaper oil is one of the perks of the war.