Battle shapes up over future of U.S. in Iraq The truth finally comes out: the real reason President Bush wants to stay in Iraq: i.e., longterm U.S; hegemony over oil supplies. Not 'democracy', not anti-terrorism. Here is the bare-knuckles rationale: the U.S. wants to be on the ground floor of Iraq's oil exporting future and the Sunni countries in the area want to have the U.S. as a hedge against Iranian influence.