Why Depend on Saudi Arabia for Oil?

Thanks to Watson for giving me the idea for this post.



The USA imports more than 55% of its oil. Much of that oil comes from our "ally" Saudi Arabia. You remember, the country that 15 of the 19 World Trade Center and Pentagon attackers came from? The conservative WorldNetDaily claims that Saudi oil imports fund American mosques (implying subversion of the US).

Some of the largest mosques and Islamic centers in America are funded by the royal government of Saudi Arabia, which gets most of its revenues from oil exports. And America is its biggest customer.

It's too bad that the USA is so dependent on an ally that supports terrorism (and Sunni insurgents in Iraq). Actually, I personally have no evidence that Saudi Arabia funds terrorism although they are the home of Wahhabism and Osama bin Laden. However, you do have to question what was said on those 28 blacked out (censored) pages about Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 Commission's report. Surely, our oil-based relationship doesn't have anything to do with the Bush family (here)and their business interests (think Saudi investment in the Carlisle group).

So we continue to import oil into the US from our ally Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia uses many of those oil dollars to purchase USA debt to help prop us up financially. It's a wonderful arrangement.

Yet here in our own hemisphere there is a non-muslim country that has 4 times more recoverable oil reserves than does Saudi Arabi. Which country is that you ask? It's Venezuela, sworn enemy of the Bush administration. What would Venezuela do with all those oil dollars? Well, Chavez is adamant that he would not purchase US debt with them. He claims he would invest in South America. Oddly enough, the very heavy crude oil (almost tar-like) that is found in Venezuela currently can currently only be refined in Venezuela or the USA.

So now you have to ask, why is Chavez such an enemy of the USA? Why did the Bush administration support a coup against Chavez? A coup that only lasted for two days. What are the diplomatic attempts to make chavez a stronger ally of the USA. I don't know alot about Hugo Chavez but here are two articles I've read about him so far, one by Greg Palast and another by Franklin Foer published in the Atlantic Monthly. There is also a good interview concerning Chavez and Venezuela with Tariq Ali here.