since our deal with the middle east has always involved protecting oppressive dictatorships in exchange for cheap dollar-denominated oil, and since we now seem to be throwing said oppressive dictators under the bus one after another, i'm wondering how long before the saudis wake up and start shopping around for better protectors [like the chinese and/or russians, for example--both of whom abstained from the libya vote]. . .turns out it didn't take 'em long at all.
mkf, a few weeks ago
as for the second part of the above quote,
. . . and we find ourselves up shit creek, crude-wise.
lemme put it this way: when the saudis talk about "expanded business opportunities" with the russians and chinese, they ain't talking about sending 'em sand.
look, the prospect of $9 gas doesn't bother me much personally--hell, i bought my prius a year ago, and anything that gets the riff-raff off the streets and frees up traffic can't be all bad--but what's coming is gonna hurt america, and it's gonna hurt us bad.
[h/t to john for sending me the above clip]
1 comment:
OK.
So the Middle East is not the most stable place. That, as best I can tell, has always been the case.
The problem is that once there was just sand, there is now oil under that sand. That makes the area strategically valuable when before, it was just a wasteland.
The Saudi ruling family and the other monarchies of the Middle East have traditionally been friendly to the United States. But they have also encouraged such rabid anti-Semitism, that this has spilled over into anti-Americanism. So now they are in a situation where the street is very much opposed to many pro-Western policies.
Be careful what you wish for in terms of democracy in the region. It may not be so friendly to us.
Having said that, the only credible approach over the long-term is to support democratic movements. Is democracy inevitable? No. But it is likely and we'd be best to support the future not the past.
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