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Using oil as a weapon: Part I
On Thursday, Libya announced that they were ceasing oil shipments to Switzerland as punishment for arresting and briefly detaining Hannibal Gaddafi, son of Muammar al-Gaddafi, Libya’s “Leader and Guide of the Revolution”. Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife were arrested at a luxury hotel in Geneva, Switzerland for allegedly striking two servants. They were released on bail two days later, and have since left the country. The Libyan government is demanding a formal apology from the Swiss government before shipments to Switzerland will be resumed, and failure to do so could even result in further action. This move could have a serious affect on Switzerland as they rely on Libya for more than 50% of their oil. The Swiss have sent a delegation to Tripoli to plead their case and try to convince the Libyan government to lift the embargo. Using oil as a weapon is not a new practice, and has been used for decades by Arab oil producing countries since as early as the 60’s. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Arab oil embargo against the United States that began in October of 1973 and lasted until March of 1974. As a result, Americans experienced long lines at gas stations, and instead of driving around looking for lower priced gas, consumers looked for gas stations that had any gas at all. In those days, as the embargo continued, when a station received a delivery of the precious fuel, long serpentine lines of cars rapidly formed, and incidents of tempers flaring increased dramatically. Obviously time heals all wounds, and until the recent dramatic increase in gas prices, it seems that the nation has forgotten the lessons learned by that brief, 5 month period of punishment for aiding and supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur War. The move by OAPEC had an instant affect on the U.S. and had a shocking chaotic effect on the U.S. economy. The national average for retail price of a gallon of gas rose from 38.5 cents a gallon in May 1973 to 55.1 cents a gallon in June 1974, when you could find a gas station that even had gas. Maybe even more shocking was the affect it had on the New York stock exchange, a more telling economic barometer of the economic wellness of this country. The NYSE lost more than $97 billion in value over the course of six weeks. At the time of the oil embargo in 1973, the United States was importing about 25% of the oil it consumes. Today we import almost 70% of the oil we consume, and that figure is steadily rising as demand is increased by higher population resulting in more drivers, the auto industry’s refusal to produce dramatically more efficient vehicles as well as affordable alternative fuel vehicles, the American consumer’s love affair with gas guzzling behemoths, and lastly the government’s lack of foresight and leadership to take the threat seriously. Even now as we are offered such lame “solutions” as McCain’s gas tax holiday that would have saved Americans a total of less than the cost of a single tank of gas, and that would have actually exacerbated the problem of America’s foreign oil addiction by encouraging more consumption. And how can we forget George Bush’s tired rhetoric year after year at his State of the Union address which were intended to give pacifying lip service to the problem, and to give the impression that he cared, while at the same time he offered no solutions concrete solutions and took even less action. If the government has failed at anything, and its failings are numerous, this administration, led by the same party which claims to be the party of national security, has allowed this country, to turn its prosperity into a dangerous addiction that can be used as perhaps the most devastating possible weapon against us. While Bush is chasing non-existent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq he has ignored a much more potent weapon which has been made more devastating with each gas guzzling car and SUV we produce and promote. In a sense our leaders and their lack of leadership, have held a loaded pistol up to this nation’s temple and are on the suicide hot-line, waiting to be talked out of it. William S. James, 911 operator |
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Site to promote Freedom Zone fz2878
www.fz2878.com
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