When the oil
dries up
Untold billions of dollars in oil revenues and not much to
show for it May 4, 2004
iranian.com
In twenty to thirty years oil will be obsolete. Fossil
fuels are too dirty. Autos powered by clean fuel cells will be
the reality.
As clean energy technologies develop in the next few decades, environmental
lobbies in the West will eventually outlaw fossil fuels altogether,
count on it. They'd do it today if they could.
Countries that depend on oil revenues for their
existence are in for a rude awakening. Investment in alternative
industries today is crucial to avoiding mass poverty
in their futures. Modern agriculture, technology, manufacturing, tourism, are
industries that need to be developed over time. The 21st century economy is
evolving quickly, the longer a country waits, the harder it will
be to be competitive.
Infrastructure like telecommunications, and transportation etc. need to be
invested in now before the oil money dries up. But instead this
money is being wasted.
Throughout the Middle East, dictators support terrorism
and foment hatred and anger toward Israel and the US to create
Islamic fascist nationalism, which
is used to keep their unethically regimes in power. But capital investment
abhors
instability. Who wants to start a business where a bunch of angry zealots
are running around strapped to dynamite?
Today, the oil wealth of all Middle Easterners is
being squandered right before their eyes while they're out in the
streets protesting "The Great American Satan". But America's buying
the oil at fair market values;
it's the dictators who are stealing the profits. The Palestinian/Israeli
conflict should have been fairly settled decades ago, which America has
unyieldingly advocated from day one, it's the dictators who pay
the terrorists
out of oil profits to perpetuate the war. Young Muslims are martyring themselves
for an oil theft scam. All the while, the dictators themselves are living
in
staggering opulence.
Since Saddam Hussein took power, Iraq has generated
untold billions of dollars in oil revenues. And what does it have
to show for it: A huge pile
of dead
Iranians, a huge pile of dead Iraqis and a huge pile of ex-military scrap
metal. Nothing
else. That money could have been spent making Iraq an economic super
power. But now Iraq has only a short 25-year window to invest and
build a non-oil
economy
from scratch.
Iran's not much better. Its dictators are squandering their nation's
wealth on nuclear weapons and expensive missiles. Any advancement in Iran's
military strength will be met and then dwarfed by American technology
and production, realistically it will probably remain that way for
the rest of this century.
If security were really a concern, Iran would be better off becoming
a thriving prosperous democracy and joining NATO.
By 2030 the US presence in the Middle East will
be gone with or without Bin Ladin. Nothing personal, its just business.
The irony is by then
the Arab States
will be begging Americans to come back and spend their precious tourist
dollars. But I don't think Americans will be clamoring to
spend a week with a bunch of hypocritical hate mongers.
The war against Israel is a fraud, and anti-Americanism
is a hypocritical tool to advance state sponsored fascism. It chases
away capital investment
at a
time when it's needed most for the sole purpose of protecting the personal
wealth of a hand full of tyrannical dictators.
I am amazed when I hear otherwise highly intelligent
and caring Muslims regurgitate the usual hate-slogans fed to them
by their
oppressors
to prop up ëthe regime'.
Honorable Middle Easterners need to wake up, get their emotions under control
and turn their anger away from Israel and the US and turn it towards the productive
chore of overthrowing their dictators. Or at least be honest when you start bitching.
Go to the streets with your fist in the air and yell
"I hate Israel because somebody told me to and I'm willing to condemn
my children to a life of
poverty to prove it. Long live my dictator!" Or how about "There
can be no peace as long as Palestinians are willing to blow themselves
up so Bashar al-Assad can keep his palace!" At least I can respect
an honest man no matter how ridiculous his cause is. The Middle East is politically 75 years behind the
free world. It's reminiscent
of Europe of the 1930s and shows no desire to grow up any time
soon. Ironically by the time it does mature enough to begin to
embrace democratic stability the
spigots we be shutting off.
Hating America may be the current fashion but I
don't see how it will
pay any dividends in the future. But I do know that letting your dictators stay
in power and steal all your money is just plain dumb..
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