BBC -- Iraq crisis reflects global US strategy

The Bush doctrine - wage war on weak enemies, secure the oil, and expand US military reach and might. This is the opinion from a conservative news source from America's main ally.

In the Bush military doctrine, pre-emptive action has been elevated to a cardinal principle. The three strands of the global strategy intertwine.

To take one example, American military bases set up to fight al-Qaeda in central Asia may also serve to safeguard oil supplies, to back up the commercial exploitation of the Caspian basin.

Then there is the military training the Americans are giving to the Georgian armed forces - to help them fight terrorists, yes, but it is not coincidental that a new oil pipeline is planned through Georgia.

George W Bush himself, it should be said, has in practice been cautious up to now. But the picture of Iraqis dancing in the streets as the Americans liberate Baghdad is a beguiling one.

That might indeed be the first reaction. But would it last? Do the visionaries in Washington really believe that a democratic Saudi Arabia would love America more?