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As someone pointed out to me earlier this week here on HN, Seymour Hersh's article on the Bin Ladin assassination, the real story of Al Qe'da is that the Saudis
by nickbauman 11y ago
As someone pointed out to me earlier this week here on HN, Seymour Hersh's article on the Bin Ladin assassination, the real story of Al Qe'da is that the Saudis funded it tacitly. And as a result Saudi government is partially responsible for 9/11.
The sooner we figure out how to make petroleum irrelevant, the sooner places like Saudi lose their influence. Gas == War.
- lemevi 11y agoI imagine that any country near Israel will never become to irrelevant to the US because protecting our long time ally Israel is hugely important.
- nickbauman 11y agoThe reason why Israel is important is because of its proximity to the Grand Lever of geopolitics that is crude oil. Once we stop burning crude oil, the relevance of Israel to US foreign policy wanes considerably.
- lobster_johnson 11y agoThe US only imports about 15% of crud oil and related products (such as gas) from Saudi Arabia. 70% is non-OPEC, and 40% is from Canada [1]. At the same time, the US produces roughly the same amount that it imports [2]. So at this point in time, the US no longer needs the Middle East for oil. [1] http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_mbbl_m.htm http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_... [2] http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MCRFPUS1&f=M http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MC...
- nickbauman 11y agoCompletely true: the US doesn't need middle eastern oil. But the politics around oil are not just about getting it. It's also about preventing certain groups from getting it AND controlling access to oil to our strategic allies. Oil is the lever of all geopolitics. To understand the balance of power, the economics and politics of oil go hand in hand. It's not just about driving your car: it's about ruling the world.