Wikileaks shocker – Foreign oil dependence weakening America
Kissing ass for oil
Who is using who?
Pretty interesting information coming out of the latest WikiLeak’s episode. For instance, some kind of attack on Iran seems inevitable as not just Israel is advocating for such action, but also Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, even Egypt and a host of other Middle East countries are also on-board the bombing bus.
Still, probably the most interesting take away thus far is the undeniable fact that foreign oil dependence, despite the cheap cost of gasoline in the US, is making the US ever more weak.
“On the whole, the cables from the Middle East expose the superpower’s weaknesses,” writes Spiegel Online. “Washington has always viewed it as vital to its survival to secure its share of energy reserves, but the world power is often quickly reduced to becoming a plaything of diverse interests. And it is drawn into the animosities between Arabs and Israelis, Shiites and Sunnis, between Islamists and secularists, between despots and kings. Often enough, the lesson of the documents that have now been obtained, is that the Arab leaders use their friends in Washington to expand their own positions of power.”
“A plaything of diverse interests”. Love that one.
Yet, is the US not stuck between a rock and an even harder place? Either Iran is attacked or every country in the Middle East will acquire nuclear bombs, making access to nuclear materials much easier for all sorts of anti-American interests.
Of course, are countries like Saudi Arabia really worried about a nuclear Iran, or just using the US to play out millennia-old vendettas?
Regardless, one way or another pain seems inevitable. Attack Iran and the Straits of Hormuz will probably shut down and gas prices will skyrocket, even if just temporarily. Still, a good gas shock could easily push the US – and the world – back into serious recession. Don’t attack, and the situation could spawn into all out nuclear warfare, including attacks against the US.
Consequently, is not a new world order desperately in order?
Even more relevant, if foreign oil dependence simply transforms into foreign lithium and rare earth dependence, has anything really been gained?
Might not ‘energy independence’ be the most ironic phrase ever created?
Nevertheless, the US is on an unsustainable path into the future. Minimally, that simply cannot be denied. ‘Energy independence’ might be a bit of an oxymoron, but the longer the US waits to strive for such a goal, the more certain we can be that tougher times are ahead.
[...] oil dependence, and the latest Wikileak’s leak demonstrates that America is becoming “a plaything of diverse interests” in the Middle East because of this foreign energy dependence. More problems are inevitable, [...]