2006-05-02

Ex-CIA Chief: Oil Key to U.S. Security

At the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, here’s some straight talk about our dependence on foreign oil from ex-CIA chief James Woolsey: Oil key to U.S. security.

Think gas prices are bad now?

Imagine another terrorist attack — especially one on Saudi Arabian oil refineries, former CIA Director R. James Woolsey said Monday during a visit to Pittsburgh.

If terrorists took out the sulfur-cleaning towers in northeastern Saudi Arabia, as described in the beginning of Robert Baer’s book, “Sleeping With the Devil,” crude oil prices could easily top $150 a barrel and stay there for more than a year, Woolsey said.

A barrel of oil sold for about $73 yesterday, with gas prices in the United States hovering around $3 a gallon.

Most Americans don’t want to think about paying double that.

They also don’t want to think about where some of the money goes when they buy gasoline — to groups that threaten the U.S., Woolsey said. And it’s not just terrorists, but established Middle Eastern regimes that restrict women’s rights, have poor education systems and fail to invest in their societies.

“If you want to see who’s paying for all that, next time you pull in to fill up, turn the rearview mirror a little bit so you can look at yourself for a minute as you get out with your credit card,” Woolsey said during a meeting with reporters and editors of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

4 comments:

Nadir said...

LEGALIZE HEMP! SAVE AMERICA!!

Paul Hue said...

Nadir: It is impossible for me to more fully support a call for legalizing hemp, and all drugs. We have recently discussed a strict adherance to the US constitution (which is my bible). Where does this document enable govt officials to prevent any of us from consuming ANYTHING?

Nadir said...

It doesn't since the amendment repealing prohibition.

But we wouldn't ingest hemp. We would grow it for fuel like Thomas Jefferson grew it for ropes and clothing. It is a completely replenishable fuel source that could replace petroleum in automobiles, plastics and many other industrial and non-industrial uses.

If the CIA can sell crack in the inner cities to fund the contras, certainly the government should legalize industrial grade hemp for a clean burning fuel source.

Dow Chemical led the charge to make marijuana illegal. Hemps was an asset before it was discovered that it could be processed like petro-chemicals.

Paul Hue said...

I favor a strict interpretation of the constitution, and amending it if we want to enable something that it bans, or ban something that it permits.

I am certain that CIA agents did not sell drugs to Americans, but rather permitted drug trafficking... which you and I agree that it ought to!