Gasoline addiction

I'm confused by public opinion (here in the U.S.) on the 'war' in Iraq. Specifically, the folks who oppose the war seem just as keen to consume petroleum as every one else. I don't see any antiwar folks driving 55 (to save gas), or burning bio-fuel (to avoid using gas), or commuting by bike. And at the end of the day, the reason we're in places like Iraq is to feed our oil-based lifestyle. My conservative friends, by contrast, seem unable to move beyond a pejorative (if not blind) disdain for any one who questions our presence there.

The nomadic folks (tribes) of the middle east were arguably unprepared for the influx of capital that has accompanied the growth in petroluem exports. Without our gasoline addiction, they'd still comprise a largely pre-industrial nomadic population - the barbaic elements of which would be far from our daily news. Having put some serious effort into something as simple as communiting to work by bike, I've seen first-hand how much we 'love' our automobiles. People (including friends) consider it odd at best.

I'm no historian. I'm no sociologist. But it seems pretty clear to me that much of the horror we observe in the middle east starts at the gas pump.