Protecting your Resources

[Marshal Murat]

As an interested .Orgah, I wanted to get the full-spectrum opinion on
Protecting your Resources.

I recently read a very informative book about the 'desperate scramble' for the last of the world resources (blah blah blah, that isn't what the thread is about).

When does securing oil reserves and supplies, food, water, materials take precedence over 'sovereign national rights'?

China currently works hundreds (thousands I think) of Africans, mining copper and ores in Southern Africa. This could be termed as
1) Helping a struggling African nation prosper
2) Taking advantage of poor conditions in the area, and using your full economic power to send your resources back to home base without giving anything to the locals.

There are no doubt going to be resource issues in the future, where countries will struggle over natural resources. When does it cross over from a company outsourcing to 'imperialistic war-mongering'?

A perfect example would be the 1st Iraq War. No one had to stop Saddam, the Saudi's could have done it (a bloody mess, but had they tried), or any other group (cough Iranians cough) but there was a global effort to secure the Kuwaiti oilfields from the greedy Saddam and secure the Saudi oil-fields. This wasn't 'imperialistic war-mongering' on either parties part. Saddam hoped to secure his countries future (and that of his people, no matter how many he killed, they were still the people) and the rest of the world wanted a stable oil supply.

'Securing countries future refers to using any power necessary to secure materials and/or resources'
'Future in this context should be defined having the means to provide for your people, and and have your nation be accepted as a prospering, fully-functional nation.'
Saddam is always the 'bad guy' in this scenario, but are we the wrong-doers, preventing a nation from securing it's future?
When does securing your countries long-term needs take precedence over laws and orders, and the accepted political status quo?
Is securing your countries future a beneficial step, or 'imperialistic war-mongering' as your country stomps on the little guys?
When is it acceptable to take military action for securing the safety and prosperity of your nation (present and/or long term future)?