The oil industry analysts are not impressed. Much like the McCain "let's drill offshore" the Saudi talk about expanding production is years away from being reality. The meeting was exactly the kind of fraudulent PR spin that many predicted.
"The only thing that's been achieved from this meeting is that we have a clear path to $150 and beyond," Stephen Schork, editor of energy publication The Schork Report, told "Squawk Box Europe."
"Why did we even have this quote-unquote oil price summit?" Schork said. "The Saudis didn’t tell us anything we didn't already know."
"My fear is now that OPEC, or specifically the Saudis, has not given this market a reason to sell, and with the amount of speculation in this market we now have every reason to go back in and start buying this market now," he said.
Nice to see that they still appreciate us saving their ass in 1991, and being the only real friend they've got. I remember one of our debate topics in high school was invading Saudi Arabia and just taking over the oil fields. I suspect it would be a mess, but a girl can dream.
Thankfully it's pulled back to under $139. Oil initially dropped below $134 today when the Saudis said they would pump more oil. Many questioned their ability to deliver on the promise, claiming the Saudis are already at their peak.
It's the economy, stupid, yet again. And McCain has the audacity to say Obama is bad for business? Seriously? If he looked beyond his 8 or 9 houses, he might see that the world economy is being dragged down by the Republican economics that he helped put in place. The weak dollar, high demand (even with the mild reductions) and speculators (i.e. an under-regulated market) are feeding the market frenzy. Add to that the normal problems in Nigeria coupled with the ongoing mess in Iraq and inflammatory remarks about Iran and guess what you have? That's right, you have overpriced oil.
If McCain wants to talk about the economy, by all means, let's hear how he's so different from the economy that's in place today. Let's give him a head start so Phil Gramm can whisper stories into his ear but it's not our fault if he gets the story wrong as he does when Lieberman tries to give him answers.
How convenient and oh what a change from only one day earlier. Listening to this nonsense, you would never imagine this guy is President and is in his final year. Where the hell has he been?
President Bush said Saturday that the Saudis' modest increase in oil production is "something but it doesn't solve our problem" of soaring gas prices.
Taking note of the kingdom's recent decision to raise production by 300,000 barrels a day, the president said the United States must act, too, to ease the gasoline crisis. He mentioned steps such as developing alternate fuels, improving conservation and expanding domestic exploration.
"We've got to do more at home," the president said on a lawn of a resort overlooking the Red Sea. He spoke after a private meeting with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
Seriously, why do we defend these people? I get it, they have oil. But if their little royal family got conveniently replaced by someone else, they'd still have oil.
"Supply and demand are in balance today," [Saudi oil minister Ali] al-Naimi told a news conference, bristling at criticism from the U.S. Congress. "How much does Saudi Arabia need to do to satisfy people who are questioning our oil practices and policies?"
Early this week, Senate Democrats introduced a resolution to block $1.4 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia unless Riyadh agreed to increase its oil production by 1 million barrels per day.
Too little, too late. Why is he only raising this subject now that oil is above $100? Even with the drop, it's still outrageously high but his kind and the Bush blue blood types never notice how much the chauffeur puts in the limo. Is it so difficult to give a damn about anyone outside of the boardrooms of Wall Street? I know, I know...of course the answer is "no" with the Republicans.
Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.
Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence.
Prince Bandar, the head of the Saudi national security council, and son of the crown prince, was alleged in court to be the man behind the threats to hold back information about suicide bombers and terrorists. He faces accusations that he himself took more than £1bn in secret payments from the arms company BAE.
He was accused in yesterday's high court hearings of flying to London in December 2006 and uttering threats which made the prime minister, Tony Blair, force an end to the Serious Fraud Office investigation into bribery allegations involving Bandar and his family.
The threats halted the fraud inquiry, but triggered an international outcry, with allegations that Britain had broken international anti-bribery treaties.
Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.
Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence.
Prince Bandar, the head of the Saudi national security council, and son of the crown prince, was alleged in court to be the man behind the threats to hold back information about suicide bombers and terrorists. He faces accusations that he himself took more than £1bn in secret payments from the arms company BAE.
The inconsistency and hypocrisy of US policy in the Middle East continues to abound and astound.
To thank the Saudis for supporting the latest, feeble U.S. peace efforts in the Middle East, Bush is promising them 20 billion dollars in sophisticated weapons -- including 121 million dollars worth of precision guided bombs.
Bush gives a speech criticizing Iran for a lack of democracy and the audience is . . . Abu Dhabi and Dubai. He slams Iran for wanting weapons . . . and then sells $20 BILLION worth to the Kingdom. The article does a fantastic job of explaining the contradictions of our policy, as well as some of the results of the current sky-high oil prices; it's well worth a read. The whole thing makes me want to, well, you know.
Either these guys are terrorists or they're not. But for the Bush administration to claim that they're terrorists, then for the Saudi government to give them a Willy Horton holiday, and thousands of dollars to boot, is beyond sickening. It never ceases to amaze me that with all the talk of the "all-powerful" Jewish lobby, no one has been able to ever take down Saudi Arabia. These kind of stories should mark the end of any special relationship between Saudi Arabia and America, but they never are because no one with any money and power and influence ever takes full advantage of them.
And another thing. What does Bush plan on doing about this? 55 "terrorists" are about to be let go. Men so dangerous that they had to be kept in the super-double-secret prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. These aren't just regular terrorists, Bush keeps telling us, these are the worst of the worst. These are men who want to, plan to, kill Americans in the thousands and the tens of thousands. So, if that's true, there's no way these guys are voluntarily coming back to prison (where they could get their hands, or heads cut off) after their little Spring Break in Daytona. So what is Bush planning on doing about the fact that he released 55 super-terrorists who plan to kill American citizens in the thousands?
The Saudi Arabian government will temporarily release 55 prisoners recently transferred from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and will give each of them about $2,600 to celebrate the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, a newspaper reported Saturday.
BAE is already large and has been seeking deeper inroads in the US, though those plans may be put on hold with the US Department of Justice now building its case against the British defense contractor on charges of corruption and bribery which are against US federal laws as well as an OECD treaty which includes both the US and UK. As sensitive as Washington can be on foreign ownership in certain business sectors - defense contracting being high on the list - you can be sure that this will be played by home grown defense contractors. It is also not unreasonable to have more competition instead of the consolidation that is underway, though the Republicans do tend to encourage corporate behemoths these days, in stark contrast to the competitive, flexible model of earlier times.
Strangely enough, Blair is accepting complete responsibility for halting a corruption investigation into the multi-billion dollar scandal, claiming national security and it remains to be seen whether the British public accepts that defense or if they prefer the rule of law. Blair will also find out, yet again, just how much political cover Bush is willing to extend to the UK despite Blair's broad support for Bush and his policies.
More broadly, this chipping away at traditional democracy, both in the UK and the US and often under the guise of national security, needs to be addressed much more seriously and with much more vigor.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told Arab leaders on Wednesday that the American occupation of Iraq is “illegal,” and he warned that unless Arab governments settle their differences, foreign powers like the United States would continue to dictate the region’s politics.
The king’s speech, at the opening of the Arab League summit meeting here, underscored growing differences between Saudi Arabia and the Bush administration as the Saudis take on a greater regional leadership role, partly at American urging. The Saudis seem to be emphasizing that they will not be beholden to the policies of their longtime ally.
The analysis, based on government case files for Saudi detainees sent home over the past three years, shows inmates being systematically freed from custody within weeks of their return. It also raises questions on how detainees are selected for release: While some of the repatriated Saudis were accused of lesser offenses -- such as working for charitable organizations with alleged ties to al-Qaeda -- others were released in spite of standing accusations that they belonged to al-Qaeda or the Taliban, or even fought against U.S. or coalition forces in Afghanistan, records show.
The case files also offer insight into the nature of U.S. evidence against the detainees. For example, in half the cases studied, the detainees were turned over to U.S. forces by Pakistani police or troops in return for financial rewards. Many others were accused of terrorism connections in part because their Arab nicknames matched those found in a computer database of al-Qaeda members, documents show.
"The credibility of many of these accusations is highly questionable," co-authors Anant Raut and Jill M. Friedman write in "The Saudi Repatriates Report," scheduled for release tomorrow. The report is a statistical analysis of the cases of 24 repatriated Saudis, a group representing nearly half of the 53 Saudi nationals released from Guantanamo Bay as of Feb. 1. The authors are members of the Washington office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a law firm that has provided pro-bono representation for five Saudis detained at Guantanamo Bay. The law firm provided copies of the supporting documents to The Washington Post.
Ok, can we put aside the Bush junta-inspiredmendacity eruptions (slightly different than Bill Clinton's "bimbo eruptions," in that they mendacity eruptions actually end lives) to try and ignite war in Iran with those shady forces who are responsible for only 8% of the attacks on American soldiers in Iraq.
I know this will give the good Reverend John Hagee the kind of stiffy most of us could only pull off after a quart of Viagara mixed with Hillbilly Heroin--or as it is now known in bar-speak, a Limbaugh with a Haggard twist--but for the rest of us, can we shout from the rooftops "Enough with the fraudulent war justifications!"
Haven't we all learned from the last public relations rollout for a war of choice? Well, not David Brooks. But he's dumber than lead paint on Lindsay Lohan, so what he gurgles up out of his craven esophagus is of no consequence.
Yet, for those of us living in the strange land of lucidity, can we please all get this very simple message out before we experience Neocon Debacle II: Electric Boogalo
So does all that compute Mr. Bush? Iran has some very bad men in their leadership, true. But they don't begin to compare to your friends, the Saudis. Not that you ever cared about going after the real enemy.
