In a 1998 interview, Osama bin Laden — the terrorist organizer of 9/11 who still roams free — listed as one of his many grievances against the U.S. that Americans “have stolen $36 trillion from Muslims” by purchasing oil from Persian Gulf countries at low prices. The real price of a barrel of oil should be $144, bin Laden demanded.
Ten years ago today, the price of a barrel of oil was just $11. Heading into this holiday weekend, the price of a barrel of oil rested at $144 — a thirteen-fold increase.
One month after 9/11, the New York Times wrote of possible “nightmare” scenarios that would deliver bin Laden’s goal. Neela Banerjee warned that among the “misguided decisions” that would put oil supplies at risk would be “that the United States attacks Iraq.” The Times included this quote in its story:
“If bin Laden takes over and becomes king of Saudi Arabia, he’d turn off the tap,” said Roger Diwan, a managing director of the Petroleum Finance Company, a consulting firm in Washington.
“He said at one point that he wants oil to be $144 a barrel” — about six times what it sells for now.
Bin Laden didn’t have to become king of Saudi Arabia to achieve his goal; in fact, Bush’s policies delivered it for him. The Bush administration’s catastrophic decision to invade Iraq, sink the nation into debt to pay for that war, and consequently, weaken the dollar have all caused oil prices to soar astronomically.
Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee last May, Anne Korin, the co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, reminded Congress about bin Laden’s goal:
[A]bout ten years ago, Osama bin Laden stated that his target price for oil is $144 a barrel and that the American people, who allegedly robbed the Muslim people of their oil, owe each Muslim man, woman, and child $30,000 in back payments. At the time, $144 a barrel seemed farfetched to most. […]
[A]bout ten years ago, Osama bin Laden stated that his target price for oil is $144 a barrel and that the American people, who allegedly robbed the Muslim people of their oil, owe each Muslim man, woman, and child $30,000 in back payments. At the time, $144 a barrel seemed farfetched to most. […]
I would like to impress upon this Committee that $144 a barrel oil will be perceived as a victory for the Jihadist movement and a reaffirmation that the economic warfare component of its campaign against the West is a resounding success. There is no need to elaborate on the implications of such a victory in terms of loss of U.S. prestige and our ability to prevail in the Long War of the 21st century.
Indeed, ten years later, a mission accomplished for bin Laden.
3 comments:
Just a question.
What you're saying with all this is that Bush and Cheney engineered everything since 9/11 to spike oil to benefit themselves, Osama Bin Laden, and their oil company buddies. So if this is the case, then Bush and gang shouldn't want anything meaningful that would drop the price of oil.
So then what's the reason you aren't screaming for domestic drilling so we can get out of that crazy-assed area and not be dependent on foreign oil?
Domestic drilling will only give us the false hope that we can sustain our dependence on oil.
We still don't know about the Energy meeting Cheney had before 9/11--who attended and what went on at that meeting. Why? Why should our government be run like the secretive Communists ran their government? Why shouldn't the American people know what Cheney and the oil execs talked about in that meeting? Give me a reason why.
If Bush or Clinton had been responsible presidents, they would have demanded that the car manufactureres build vehicles that got better mileage--not stupid HumVees that overconsumed a limited resource. There were many other things both presidents could have done, but after 9/11, the onus to get the American people to stop consuming 25% of the world's fossil fuels was on Bush. And he failed. Because he and his Veep are oilmen first, and Constitutional Officers second.
Document Says Oil Chiefs Met With Cheney Task Force
By Dana Milbank and Justin Blum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Page A01
A White House document shows that executives from big oil companies met with Vice President Cheney's energy task force in 2001 -- something long suspected by environmentalists but denied as recently as last week by industry officials testifying before Congress.
The document, obtained this week by The Washington Post, shows that officials from Exxon Mobil Corp., Conoco (before its merger with Phillips), Shell Oil Co. and BP America Inc. met in the White House complex with the Cheney aides who were developing a national energy policy, parts of which became law and parts of which are still being debated.
http://tinyurl.com/dzjfo
Patrick,
You who believe government is too big and too intrusive in our lives accepts that a group of wealthy oilmen met in the people's house, The White House, and promulgated a friggin' law! and then when the people wanted to know about what exactly went on in this meeting that affects our lives, the Government told us to to eff ourselves--it's secret--"national security."
You accept that rubbish?
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