(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-17 17:29

Even a small disruption could drive oil prices as high as $120 a barrel and would mean "chaos" to the global economy, Greenspan told the newspaper.

Given that, "I'm saying taking Saddam out was essential," he said. But he added he was not implying the war was an oil grab, the Post said.

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Greenspan, who in his memoir criticized Bush and congressional Republicans for abandoning fiscal discipline and putting politics ahead of sound economics, also expressed dismay with the Democratic Party in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Monday.

Greenspan told the Journal he was "fairly close" to former President Bill Clinton's economic advisers, but added, "The next administration may have the Clinton administration name, but the Democratic Party ... has moved ... very significantly in the wrong direction." He cited its populist bent, especially its skepticism of free trade. Clinton's wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, is the Democratic presidential front-runner.

Greenspan, a self-described libertarian Republican, told the Journal he was not sure how he would vote in the 2008 election.

"I just may not vote," he was quoted as saying, adding, "I'm saddened by the whole political process."

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