[Peace-discuss] An article of interest

[Ricky Baldwin]

I apologize that I haven't been keeping up with much of this discussion.  AWARE members are nothing if not prolific!

But I have to point out - we've mentioned it before here - that the alleged domination of AIPAC over US policy in the Middle East is a myth.  When US rulers' objectives and AIPAC objectives coincide, the two may be able to work together; when the objectives conflict, the parties part ways. And like most myths, this one doubles as a fig leaf.  That is, it is convenient in the extreme for US interests in a major oil-producing region to appear to result from a formerly oppressed minority, Holocaust survivors, or Zionist world bankers, depending on the audience.

And, just to follow through on related question, why would the US need Middle East oil so badly as to waste so much money, so many lives, so much political capital on controlling it?  The answer depends on who you mean by "US."  The domestic population *doesn't* need Middle East oil that badly, and the economy doesn't either - at least not directly.  We could spend the money on developing alternative fuels instead of wars, etc.  We could raise fuel efficiency standards (easily: my 1973 Beetle got better gas mileage than my 1997 Plymouth, hands down), maybe even enough to rely entirely on non-Mid-East oil (there's a lot of it).  But even if not, we could more easily afford to pay OPEC's dream prices than to fight an endless "war on terrorism," or whatever we call it next.  We could invest that money in public transportation ... so many other things, right?  

But we have a need, as the last remaining superpower, to control everyone *else's* oil - to brook no challenges to our agenda.  That's why we need Israel.  That's why we've been 'mired' in Afghanistan and Pakistan, off and on, since the 70s.  Etc.  Not at all original, but that's how I see it.

Just thought I'd chime in.
 Ricky


"Only those who do nothing make no mistakes." - Peter Kropotkin




________________________________
From: E. Wayne Johnson <ewj at pigs.ag>
To: Bob Illyes <illyes at uiuc.edu>
Cc: peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 3:19:47 PM
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] An article of interest

I meant it the way that I wrote it, Bob. I do think that Obama will be mostly if not totally controlled by AIPAC et al on foreign policy
and Wall street banking interests et al on financial policy.

I do appreciate your concerns regarding the moonbattery of conspiracy theorizing, though.

Bob Illyes wrote:
> Wayne writes "the same guys are behind the curtain pulling the strings."
> 
> Are you sure you want to throw your lot in with the conspiracy theorists, Wayne? We don't actually know what Obama is going to do until he takes office. And even if he screws up, the simpler explanation will be that he wasn't up to the job rather than that he was a puppet. Neither you nor I agree with him on a number of issues, but this doesn't make him a puppet either.
> 
> Bob, Occam Guy
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> 
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