Well... since t'was I who uttered the [oil] generalization
first.. waaay back up there:
I'll concede that - of course! - it isn't *just about oil*. OTOH we do like: cheap; especially cheap nice clean Saudi sweet crude with lots less junk in it we have to refine out, at a co$t. And we do like keeping our own stuff in the ground, safe for when (not if, IMhO) we finally piss-off too many present suppiers / or they piss us off. We like it so much - we have next to be dragged kicking&screaming to even begin any serious development of alternatives (or at least the lip-service to that beginning).
I might even concede a bit of Yttrium re the China package: you can't build YAG lasers w/o it for one. Don't pretend to an encyclop\ufffddic knowledge of all our uses and sources for the (111? now) elements.. but Erbium, Neodymium, Yt and lots of Rare Earths will find increasing demand as we exponentially seek new weapons and other uses along our techno- hi-speed dash into the unknown. (This in a culture in which fewer and fewer have the foggiest what The Periodic Chart might be about) - Hah! transistorized boxes to ameliorate general dumbth? Is that our plan?
Still, back to M.E. - whatever 'favors' we have done for Israel all along obviously are a mix of - partly idealism re its SOLE democratic status amidst fiefdoms - but also as our surrogate presence, thus buffer. Need we debate the fine admixture of a dash of honest principle + Corporations-full of Machiavellian scheming which IS - so-called International Diplomacy (?)
Still too - among the least believable of many National pretenses must be - that the Saudis "are our friends"! It is certainly not clear to the mass of Muricans what that quid is.. for which we offer so much quo: EXCEPT for the highly visible [oil]. And that, mixed with Israel and insoluble One True Religions at perpetual war -- and now explosions on sacred US soil -- is a conundrum which shall soon need much better explanation and justification IMO, if this Admin hopes to stick around beyond the remaining 2 yrs, 8 mos and a few days. Beyond..? - hmmm another impeachment possible, yet?
If we want a thread to get some teeth into, why not take on: what shall We do when China (either from fearfulness of the old men / Old Guard.. of 'progress' away from their core dogma, or other new reasons) DECIDES it is time to take back Taiwan and convert it to a cash cow a la HK -AND- the Taiwanese DECIDE not to go gently into that good night?
And add THAT to the fuzziness above, of our Middle East overall position -- for a Real Problem set to get teeth into.
Ashton
One-front wars are so boring, when you can stumble into Two, don't you think? And we bought that capacity, too - prescience?
