The US now directly controls the oil of a Gulf State. This must have an unbelievable psychological impact on the entire Arab World. For Syria it's got to be radical shock. There is suddenly an even more powerful foreign army on their eastern front than they face to the southwest in Israel. And the foreign army is cutting off their oil! They must feel pretty squeezed at the moment.

Eventually we will give back control of the oil to Iraq but I'd bet the house we'll have a Navy base in Um Q'sar(sp?), an Airforce base at H3-H2, and a couple of Army divisions virtually permanently in Iraq. Possibly as long as we've had forces in Germany and Japan.

It's a whole new Middle East.