Atlas Shrugged: The Mocking

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Sooner Or Later



This is a map of US military bases in the Persian Gulf area. They just happen to encircle Iran.


This is the Persian Gulf. Wikipedia says:

The Persian Gulf and its coastal areas are the world's largest single source of crude oil and related industries dominate the region. Safaniya Oil Field, the world's largest offshore oilfield, is located in the Persian Gulf. Large gas finds have also been made with Qatar and Iran sharing a giant field across the territorial median line (North Field in the Qatari sector; South Pars Field in the Iranian sector). Using this gas, Qatar has built up a substantial liquified natural gas (LNG) and petrochemical industry.


In 2002, the Persian Gulf nations of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, produced about 25% of the world's oil, held nearly two-thirds of the world's crude oil reserves, and about 35% of the world natural gas reserves.[7][8] The oil-rich countries (excluding Iraq) that have a coastline on the Persian Gulf are referred to as the Persian Gulf States. Iraq's egress to the gulf is narrow and easily blockaded consisting of the marshy river delta of the Shatt al-Arab, which carries the waters of the Uphrates and the Tigris rivers, where the east bank is held by Iran.


The New York Times informs us that Iran could hit us in the pocketbook if they decided to block access to and from the Persian Gulf.

HOUSTON — If Iran were to follow through with its threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit route for almost one-fifth of the oil traded globally, the impact would be immediate: Energy analysts say the price of oil would start to soar and could rise 50 percent or more within days.

An Iranian blockade by means of mining, airstrikes or sabotage is logistically well within Tehran’s military capabilities. But despite rising tensions with the West, including a tentative ban on European imports of Iranian oil announced Wednesday, Iran is unlikely to take such hostile action, according to most Middle East political experts.

United States officials say the Navy’s Fifth Fleet, based in nearby Bahrain, stands ready to defend the shipping route and, if necessary, retaliate militarily against Iran.

Iran’s own shaky economy relies on exporting at least two million barrels of oil a day through the strait, which is the only sea route from the Persian Gulf and “the world’s most important oil choke point,” according to Energy Department analysts.

Our wealth depends on our military power. Our military power and the corporations that profit from it depend on a reliable supply of affordable oil.

We are the world's largest superpower and we take what we want. When we act, we will be told that we are defending ourselves from terrorists. If this happens under a conservative president, the left will object. If this happens under a liberal president, 35% of the left will protest and everyone else will not.

21 comments:

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

I am willing to bet that if Obama does it, (I mean when, thunder) the Republicans will object...

...but only because he is doing it WRONG. He probably should have used nukes or something.

Susan of Texas said...

Yeah, they'll be for the war but nag him to death regarding how he does it.

They are pretty quiet about the Obama drone attacks and security policies, although being conservatives there are always the attackers. And the conservatives who demand that we apologize to Bush for criticizing his actions. Nothing is more humiliating than having K-Lo tell liberals that they now have to admit Bush was right.

nate said...

It's sickening that with Iraq so close in the rearview mirror (insofar as we're truly "out"), the same "more in sorrow than anger" bullshit is showing up all over the media.

What choice do we have? We have to attack Iran-- for freedom!

Anonymous said...

this is good news for john mccain. maybe he'll reprise his Barbara Ann parody, Bomb Iran.

Anatole David said...

Thanks for posting this! The non-stop onslaught of war prop in media, every paper, channel, and mag, is horrifying. The same snake oil as Iraq with credentialed "experts"(members of think tanks subsidized by war contractors or professors at institutions funded by them) talking very "serious" about the "threat" of Iran. A psychosis that demands piles of corpses for our consumption based economy(You said it better in the close).

Both parties are war parties. Kennedy started military intervention in Vietnam 50 years ago today...

Arthur Silber has written a series of pieces on how everyone with a conscience, a brain, a scintilla of humanity, needs to mobilize and protest this effort via a march, ads, any means necessary.

fish said...

It drives me crazy when otherwise smart bloggers like Atrios scratch their heads and wonder why we are in Afghanistan or Iraq. The roll their eyes when someone states that it is all about the oil. But it is. Everything else is a smokescreen.

atat said...

We are the 35%.

Kathy said...

But what will they get from invading Iran? Iraq didn't turn out so great.

O’Hollern said...

C'mon you guys. Everyone knows that only Republican bombs are bad. Democratic bombs are humanitarian.

fish said...

Iraq didn't turn out so great.

Iraq turned out great. Look at all the shiny new bases we have there. It is not a coincidence that the Iraq war nearly completely coincided with our required withdrawal from the Saudi Arabian military bases.

Downpuppy said...

Actually, we had to turn all those bases over to Iraq, since they wouldn't promise us immunity for our future offenses.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/21/iraq-rejects-us-plea-bases

atat said...

It worked out well for Halliburton.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

But what will they get from invading Iran?


tiny little chickenhawk stiffies. Better than little blue pills.

nate said...

Read the Chomsky piece currently linked at salon.com.

It probably won't hold any surprises for anyone here, but the Iraq war went bad for who, exactly?

Not Haliburton and other defense contractors, nor American and European oil companies.

Substance McGravitas said...

It'll be something for the unemployed to do while the banks take their stuff.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

It worked out well for Halliburton.

It worked out great for Exxon, BP, every single domestic exploration and production company, and of course, for our great friend, Saudi Arabia.
~

fish said...

Actually, we had to turn all those bases over to Iraq, since they wouldn't promise us immunity for our future offenses.

That was certainly a political defeat, but there are now bases in Iraq built to US military specs, equipped by the US military, supported by a near puppet gov, and will be clear staging areas for any future US military actions. Obama's military plan includes:
In the Middle East, the reduction of U.S. combat forces in Iraq will still leave a residual force of about 16,000, including uniformed military personnel, CIA operatives, and private military contractors. The United States will also be strengthening its network of military bases in the region. ...
...Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta spoke of using “innovative means” to maintain a military presence in these two regions. The methods mentioned included increased rotation of U.S. troops through each area, more exercises with local military forces, and an increase in arms transfers and military training
.

We are not leaving Iraq.

Anonymous said...

off topic, but I need to vent. OMG, Douthat!

http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/what-charles-murray-gets-right/

Tommykey said...

We are the world's largest superpower and we take what we want.

So, we're sort of like Honey Badger?

Susan of Texas said...

(Sorry, my internet keeps going in and out.)

What fish said, and how does Douthat get away with supporting Murray? There must be no minorities with power on the Times.

Kathy said...

It reminds me of an old anti-drug commercial, where a man says "I use cocaine to help me work harder, and I work hard to earn money to buy cocaine, which...etc."

We need our military to gain and keep access to OIL so that our Military is provided with fuel to wage war in order to get OIL... and so on.