From: Mike Linksvayer (ml@gondwanaland.com)
Date: Sun Apr 07 2002 - 21:58:40 MDT
There is needn't be any "price to pay" for our dependence (or the
worldwide oil market's dependence anyway) on oil from the Middle East.
The US need not try to control this oil. Even if one West-hating
government controlled the entire Middle East, they'd sell oil. If they
didn't sell directly to the US, they'd sell to others, which would of
course impact world oil prices. Even if embargo by a single fanatical
and ascetic Middle East-spanning government were a threat, attempting to
control the Middle East only increases that threat.
The realistic threats consist of a) US government intervention in the
Middle East, leading to anti-US hatred, instability and increased
opportunities for anti-US governments to arise b) US government
intervention in the economy at home. In the event of an embargo, price
controls, if enacted, would cause far more disruption than price
increases.
Mike Linksvayer
http://gondwanaland.com/ml/
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