Quote:
Originally posted by Mike AI@Feb 1 2005, 08:57 PM
This is nice NickP, and I agree with you - but I have a dirty little secret that you may find distasteful, even uncomfortable.
The WMD/Hummanitarian issue are only secondary issue to the one that trumps everything.
OIL
Free flow of oil = economic security.
This is the policy of the US, and will be for a long time - not matter WHO is President.
Past policy was to support dictators in the middle east. This has pretty much backfired on us since Iran in the 1970s. Saudi Arabia is just as bad, Iraq, etc...
The whole region is a mess. But they have the oil which is important for the US and hence world economy.
Bush is trying another angle, democracy. Will it work? Is it just window dressing for a new puppet gov't? These are the questions.
I do not think you understand the economic realities. What would happen if mid east oil was not available to market? Imagine a world where oil was $1,000 a barrel? The US economy would be devistated in months, it would make the great depression look like the good-old days.
NickP, I know this is a lot to chew on. But it is the reality we live in.
Nick the Pikey - You of all people should appreciate the strategy Bush has used.
|
This post is why, even though I disagree with you when it comes to most things "Bush", I respect most of what you say Mike.
You at least will look beyond the bullshit political spin.
IMO the elections in Iraq are mearly a nice side effect that the republican party can point to and say "look what we did".
And Nick, the reason that Oil is high priced is because it should be, based on inflation since the 50's gas is by far disproportionatly low to everything else we buy.
Our gas prices should be in the neighborhood of 5 dollars a gallon.
I do agree that a better long term plan would be to would be the development of alternative energy sources, but you are never going to have that with "an oil man" in the white house.