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Swamp Stomper Ring Traffic: Who CARES what the Saudis want? Let’s use our OWN oil

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Judith Klinghoffer over at The American Thinker, asks a timely question: What do the Saudis want? [4]

Slowly but surely it is beginning to dawn on a world mesmerized by the Democratic primary contest that an oil [5] cartel has been picking our pocket with impunity by willfully failing to adjust its output to the additional needs of China and India. More specifically, Americans are beginning to wonder at the logic of continuing to keep Saudis safe. Hence, the US-Saudi oil axis faces a day of truth [6] when president Bush [7] will deliver diplomatically to his Saudi hosts the message NY senator Chuck Schumer delivered most undiplomatically [8]

We are saying to the Saudis that, if you don’t help us, why should we be helping you?

And the Saudis are only NOT helping, they are hurting.

The Saudis have let their output fall from 9.5m to 8.5m bpd over the last two years, camouflaging the move behind the accession of Ecuador and Angola to the group (which boosted nominal supply). OPEC [9] failed to compensate for a 330,000 bpd drop in Nigerian production in April, allowing the market to tighten further.

Saudi behavior baffles none other than Dr Fadhil Chalabi, a former OPEC [9] secretary-general and now director of the Centre for Global Energy Studies:

“They have about half a million barrels a day of good crude that they could put on the market. The puzzle is why they are not doing it. The soaring price is obviously telling us that the world needs more oil [5],”he said. “I can’t understand why the Saudis would risk their strategic relationship with the US over this.
“They need the US more than ever given the growing influence of Iran in the region,” he said.

Prior to President Bush [7]‘s visit, the Saudis put out the word out that they would promise Bush [7] to produce more though they would not help lower the price of oil [5] regardless of Congressional threats to proceed with legislation penalizing the OPEC [9] producers’ cartel for “anti-competitiveness practices”. But when Bush [7] arrived they rebuffed him completely arguing that they had already increased production by 300,000 barrels per day earlier this month. Consequently, the Saudi oil [5] minister insisted, all is well:

“Supply and demand are in balance today… The fundamentals are sound.”

Well, yes, that’s the argument I’ve made here. The fundamentals do not support $50/bbl, much less over double that figure.

So, clearly, there’s more than the Saudi influence at work here. Klinghioffer then goes on to list what the Saudis are thinking, in her view, and some of the problems that their kind of weath creates on the world stage. It’s a great bit I advise you read.

Oil Well [10]Here’s the deal, however; WHO CARES what the Saudis want?

We could be avoiding most of these problems by getting our heads out of this sack the environmentalists have us in, and increasing domestic drilling. We have more in the way of oil [5] here in the the US than all of what the Saudis own or influence…. an amount which would certainly change [11] the game. We handed OPEC [9] all the aces when we decided to eschew drilling ANWR, and off our coasts.

Like it or not, our future will involve oil [5], at least in the short term and possibly the long term as well. The much ballyhooed alternative energy sources are not ready for prime time and it’s doubtful they will ever make it beyond a ‘nice to have’. Sorry, Enviro-left, dem’s da breaks.

So why are we insisting on playing the victim, here, of everyone who has the courage and foresight to drill for oil [5]? Why are we so opposed to making use on the world stage, of the energy we have as a controlling factor for all this gamesmanship by OPEC [9]? I hasten to point out that our immediate price problems would ease long before such domestic sources came online. All that needs doing is to show the world we’re not playing the victim, anymore. How to do that?

Drill, refine, repeat.

It’s that simple.

Oh… there is the added dimension of telling the enviro-whack jobs to sit down and shut up. But, stop at any gas station, and tell the people paying twice what they should for fuel, that they’re saving the Snail Darter. After you remove the gasoline hose from your mouth, (and barf up a few gallons of the stuff they’ve poured into you) and get several attackers off of you, you’ll begin to understand that there is a groundswell of anger against the left and the enviro-whackjobs on these issues. The only out here is increasing supply.. and making a commitment to keep domestic oil [5] supplies flowing. We do have the power to do this. Such an increase doesn’t need to supply all our needs, but needs to be enough to change [11] the rules of the game OPEC [9] is playing… because what affects OPEC [9] will also change [11] the rules of the speculation game that’s now going on, and keeping our prices high. The person, the party which makes that commitment, that does all that will be unbeatable come November. (Hint: The Democrats [12] haven’t done this, nor are they likely to)

John McCain [13] are you listening? Congressional GOP, are YOU listening?

I doubt it.