I fear, that without fear, Bambi won't get what he wants.
__________________
John
Ontario 32 - Aria
Free, is the heart, that lives not, in fear.
Full, is the spirit, that thinks not, of falling.
True, is the soul, that hesitates not, to give.
Alive, is the one, that believes, in love. JCP
Free, is the heart, that lives not, in fear.
Full, is the spirit, that thinks not, of falling.
True, is the soul, that hesitates not, to give.
Alive, is the one, that believes, in love. JCP
Not all of the cost of your oil and gasoline is paid at the pump. Hasnt it ever occurred to you that if we didnt need imported oil we wouldnt give a rat's ass what happened in Iraq and we wouldnt have had to spend a trillion dollars invading and occupying it? (not that we did anyway, but that is another discussion). If we didnt need middle east oil we wouldnt need nearly the military expenditures we have now. Many people think it would be a fine thing to be able to supply our own energy and tell the oil countries to pound salt.
And if all the people in the world would drop their guns and give each other a BIG HUG then we could all be friends and love one another and share houses and share food and live in a nice big comune and we could make one big sail boat and sail together and laugh together and sing together and play acoustic guitar together, etc, etc etc.
__________________ My son, the Marine!
"But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever."
John Adams
Not all of the cost of your oil and gasoline is paid at the pump. Hasnt it ever occurred to you that if we didnt need imported oil we wouldnt give a rat's ass what happened in Iraq and we wouldnt have had to spend a trillion dollars invading and occupying it? (not that we did anyway, but that is another discussion). If we didnt need middle east oil we wouldnt need nearly the military expenditures we have now. Many people think it would be a fine thing to be able to supply our own energy and tell the oil countries to pound salt.
For a certain mindset, the world and it's affairs is a question with simple answers. It might do to recall that the forces and material deployed to the Middle East were primarily from obligations elsewhere. It is, and has been, DoD policy to be ready to fight in two separate large scale wars simultaneously. If peace broke out all over the ME tomorrow it would lighten the US defense obligations rather little overall.
__________________
“Scientists are people who build the Brooklyn Bridge and then buy it.” Wm. F. Buckley, Jr.
Crude Oil Imports (Top 15 Countries)
(Thousand Barrels per Day)
Country
Dec-08
Nov-08
YTD 2008
Dec-07
YTD 2007
CANADA
2,033
2,028
1,931
1,796
1,888
SAUDI ARABIA
1,394
1,487
1,506
1,675
1,447
MEXICO
1,126
1,296
1,185
1,234
1,409
VENEZUELA
1,028
1,080
1,041
1,246
1,148
NIGERIA
869
775
923
1,210
1,084
ANGOLA
553
450
504
439
498
IRAQ
519
476
627
378
484
ECUADOR
252
222
214
195
198
ALGERIA
235
381
311
348
443
BRAZIL
208
280
231
171
165
KUWAIT
194
292
206
158
175
COLOMBIA
148
160
178
113
137
CHAD
105
75
102
92
77
CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE)
95
61
67
31
63
AZERBAIJAN
78
71
73
134
57
Total Imports of Petroleum (Top 15 Countries)
(Thousand Barrels per Day)
Country
Dec-08
Nov-08
YTD 2008
Dec-07
YTD 2007
CANADA
2,600
2,532
2,459
2,372
2,455
SAUDI ARABIA
1,471
1,514
1,532
1,686
1,485
MEXICO
1,228
1,406
1,299
1,322
1,532
VENEZUELA
1,159
1,236
1,191
1,387
1,361
NIGERIA
939
827
990
1,271
1,134
ANGOLA
562
450
513
439
508
IRAQ
519
476
627
378
484
ALGERIA
484
677
547
600
670
RUSSIA
382
450
463
306
414
VIRGIN ISLANDS
289
338
320
387
346
ECUADOR
258
229
221
201
203
BRAZIL
225
285
258
178
200
KUWAIT
219
292
210
158
181
NETHERLANDS
203
137
167
157
128
COLOMBIA
198
176
200
130
155
Note: The data in the tables above exclude oil imports into the U.S. territories.
Gee whiz, 2 of our top 3 suppliers are NAFTA partners.
__________________
John
Ontario 32 - Aria
Free, is the heart, that lives not, in fear.
Full, is the spirit, that thinks not, of falling.
True, is the soul, that hesitates not, to give.
Alive, is the one, that believes, in love. JCP
We had a huge military requirement long before the Middle East grabbed our attention. The requirement existed after World War I, but we chose to withdraw on ourselves. You see what that got us. Not willing to learn, we withdrew again at the end of World War II, but the fall of the Iron Curtain woke us. Keeping the communists in check forced us to maintain that military capability. There were those who wanted to seriously draw down the military when the Iron Curtain fell again, but, fortunately, they did not prevail. Having achieved hegemony, we would be crazy to give it up. We have the ability to prevent world wide wars, to assist allies, to promote and protect freedom for ourselves and others, and to ensure that our interests are not ignored by the rest of the world. It all sounds power mad to the American Left, but it is nothing of the kind. It is merely the prudent use of available resources. No matter what the Left thinks, the world will never be nice, and there will always be people who would love to see us fail.
nobody ever said the world was a bed of roses. But when we need so much oil its them that has US by the balls and not the other way around. Why on earth wouldnt you want to end THAT?
nobody ever said the world was a bed of roses. But when we need so much oil its them that has US by the balls and not the other way around. Why on earth wouldnt you want to end THAT?
You're not going to end that. The world runs on oil, the same as plants run on photosynthesis. It's not a value judgment, it just is. The fact of the matter is that the Persian Gulf is a strategic US interest due to nothing more than those economic facts and that the US is the only nation capable of keeping those sea lanes open. So a good measure of the world economy is just as dependent on the US Navy and the rest of our military in the Middle East as is Europe on the US Army and the rest of our military in preventing Soviet incursions into Europe.
We do not live in a vacuum. If the free flow of oil does not take place, the lights start to go out not only in northern Europe but northern Vermont as well. What other nation is able to project power of such a magnitude, half a world away, on short notice? The Brits are incapable of even repeating the events of the Falkland War today, and they are one of our better armed allies. For better or worse, we're going to need essentially the same size military we have for the foreseeable future. In fact, we need a substantially larger military than we now have, given our obligations. Not uncoincidentally, our military is the one service of the federal government that serves us all equally.
__________________
“Scientists are people who build the Brooklyn Bridge and then buy it.” Wm. F. Buckley, Jr.
Seems odd sck, that with all the points raised of late, all you can focus on is a pipedream.
__________________
John
Ontario 32 - Aria
Free, is the heart, that lives not, in fear.
Full, is the spirit, that thinks not, of falling.
True, is the soul, that hesitates not, to give.
Alive, is the one, that believes, in love. JCP
My son, the Marine!
