Bush Threats To Iran Driving Up Oil Prices
Oil prices are soaring in good measure because Bush administration threats against Iran have forced key U.S. allies to
abort plans for new oil fields there and war talk encourages commodity speculators.
“Believing that a US-Iranian clash is at least 50 percent likely, some investors are buying futures in oil at $140, $150
or more per barrel, thinking they’ll make a killing if there’s an attack and prices zoom over $200,” author Michael
Klare writes in The Nation magazine.
As a result of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, that country, with the world’s second-largest reserves after Saudi
Arabia, “is producing only about half the oil it could---another reason for the global constriction of supply,” writes
Klare, a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College. At the same time, the invasion of Iraq to
seize its oil has backfired on the U.S.
After 9/11, Bush’s proclaimed War on Terror gave the White House a perfect opportunity to pursue the elimination of Iraq
dictator Saddam Hussein, “long considered the most potent challenger to US domination of the Gulf and its critical
energy supplies,” Klare said.
“But the invasion of Iraq---intended to ensure US control of the Gulf and a stable environment for the expanded
production and export of its oil---has had exactly the opposite effect,” he continued.
“Despite the many billions spent on oil infrastructure protection and the thousands of lives lost, production in Iraq is
no higher today than it was before the invasion,” Klare notes.
And, he adds, “Iraq has also become a rigorous training ground for extremists throughout the region, some of whom have
no migrated to the oil kingdoms of the lower Gulf and begun attacking the facilities there---generating some of the
recent spikes in prices.”
Klare writes that drilling in offshore U.S. waters, as favored by Bush and Sen. John McCain, “will not reverse the
long-term decline in US production---so it is only by reducing demand that fundamental market forces can be addressed.”
Klare calls for a comprehensive program of energy conservation, expanding public transit and accelerating development of
energy alternatives. He said the sharp growth in petroleum costs is due largely to heightened demand and slackening
supply, “compounded by the ruinous policies of the Bush Administration…”
“If this Administration truly wanted to spare Americans further pain at the pump,” Klare concludes, “there is one thing
it could do that would have immediate effect: declare that military force is not an acceptable option in the struggle
with Iran. Such a declaration would take the wind out of the sails of speculators and set the course for a drop in
prices.” Klare’s article appeared in the July 7th issue.
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(Sherwood Ross is a Miami-based public relations consultant who writes on political and military topics. He has worked
as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News and wire services. Reach him at sherwoodr1@yahoo.com)