I thought it was an interesting read, and there's quite a bit about the oil motivation. If you're interested in histories, you might like this one.
Britain and Iraq have had a long history; Iraq was created by Britain after World War I in what used to be known as Mesopotamia. Find out more about this long and somewhat strained relationship between Britain and Iraq
http://britishhistory.about.com/libr.../aa031803a.htm