Iraq Urges Use of Oil Weapon Against Israel, U.S.

Reuters | 4/01/02 | Hassan Hafidh

[Sender]

I want a bumper sticker...

Did you know that now you can design your own bumper stickers on www.freepstuff.com, and they can print it for you, right down to a quantity of one?

[RCW2001]

04/01 03:41
Crude Oil Rises as Much as 3.6% as Israel Keeps Up Arafat Siege
By Thomas Hogue

Singapore, April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a six- month high after an intensifying conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians raised concern flows from the Middle East, which supplies about 30 percent of the world's oil, may be disrupted.

Israel besieged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound as five suicide bombings since the Passover season began on Wednesday killed as many as 38 people. While analysts don't see an immediate threat to oil supplies, prices rose to reflect the possibility that conflict may spread.

``What it may do is prolong the war-risk premium on oil prices,'' said David Rubin, Asia oil and gas analyst with Nomura Securities in Jakarta. ``There doesn't seem to be any way out -- the Israelis respond to suicide bombings with massive force, and the Palestinians respond to massive force with more suicide bombings.''

Crude oil for May delivery rose as much as 3.6 percent, or 94 cents, to $27.25 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the highest price in six-and- a-half months.

On Thursday, crude oil rose 1.7 percent on expectations of stronger demand after reports signaled the U.S. is quickly recovering from last year's recession. The market was closed for a holiday on Friday.

snip

U.S. Economy

On Thursday Nymex crude oil rose 44 cent a barrel, to $26.31, after the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy expanded at a 1.7 percent annual pace from October to December, up from a previous estimate of 1.4 percent.

The University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment index rose to a 15-month high in March. Economic growth will lead to greater demand for gasoline, diesel and industrial fuels, analysts said.

Manufacturing in the Chicago area expanded for a second month in March, the first back-to-back gains since June-July 2000, a survey of purchasing executives showed. The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said its factory index rose to 55.7 this month from 53.1 in February. A reading above 50 means that manufacturing activity increased.

Factories use about one-fourth of the products made from crude oil in the U.S.

While demand may be rising, U.S. petroleum inventories are falling. Supplies of crude oil, gasoline, and distillate fuels all fell last week according to the American Petroleum Institute report on Tuesday.

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[Freedom'sWorthIt]

No I didn't - but how do you find the person who does this? I found the bumper stickers but not the "custom design" function.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Agreed. Time for the American people to raise the level of demand for the Demoncreeps to get out of the way so American energy security can be procured!

Of course, the enviro-brainwashers have done their work well over the past 30 years and many stupid Americans think that Caribou are worth more than human babies...beings.

There are fewer of these idiots since Sept 11th - but the idiocy is still there. Brainwashing lasts a long time.

[randog]

Good point.

[texasbluebell]

Buy oil from Russia. Bush and Putin's strategy would be brilliant at this point. Stop the flow of American dollars into the Arab terrorist nations -- and that includes Saudi Arabia!

Yes! Much better for the payments to go to Russia. They really need the money. I'm sick of lining the pockets of those damn Saudis (if they even have pockets in those flowing robes).

[RetiredArmy]

Ok. Everyone conserve. Save a gallon a week. Dash-hole says this will work. No need to panic. We can do it. No need to drill in Alaska. We will be fine. Gas will only go up to about $7.50 per gallon. We will survive.

[StriperSniper]

Yes! Much better for the payments to go to Russia. They really need the money.

And how about Mexico? Don't they have a ton of oil? Get that oil flowing and maybe some of the Mexicans coming here for work will stay there and turn that place around.

We could starve the whole Middle East if the West tried.

[KC_Conspirator]

Now, name the Americans who are on the side of Iraq on using oil as a weapon against America/Americans.

And 90% of academia.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

And 90% of academia.

Amen!

What danger we are in because of these traitorous, blind, fools.

[JosephW]

Not everyone in academia is pathetic. Both my wife and I work in a local university and we're both conservative.

Our side needs every little bit to help remove the brainwashing that these kids have received. Now if only more conservatives would get involved in education we might be able to hope for a better future than serfs for Islam.

[KC_Conspirator]

Not everyone in academia is pathetic. Both my wife and I work in a local university and we're both conservative.

You need to write a book on how you escaped the purges. I have listened to some truly terrible speeches by wacky leftist teachers at our local university. Their hate for America runs so deep that its truly frightening.

[tracer]

I cannot believe that the Saudis, their neighbors, and other fellow travelers are unaware of the fact that it would take little more than a few SEAL teams to knock out the seaside desalinization plants that provide what little water exists in that part of the world.

It would be sadly amusing to see the US trading premium-priced water delivered to Saudi Arabia by tanker ships -- to the military exclusion of all other "vendors" -- for newly-discounted Arab oil.

It also would not be beyond our military and strategic capability to cut them off with respect to other commodities necessary for the sustenance of their flea-bitten lives.

Sodom Hussein knows this better than anyone and is truly a madman and a fool to propose an oil embargo against the US......

[L_Von_Mises]

We only get 18.7% from the Middle East (October 2001). The only thing that would happen if they cut off the oil is it would make us madder and more determined. Saddam has no clue of what he speaks or the mood America is in.

The other side of the coin is that 13.8% of oil produced by countries in the Persian Gulf went to the US in that same month (although that figure is typically a little higher). Do they want to give up that much of their market? Additionally, Saddam has nothing to lose with these statements since we are not buying any oil from him anyway - only the rest of the Arabs have something to lose if they follow his idiotic ideas.

[PeteePie]

How's about we apply an "oil weapon" of our own...a nice fuel-air mixture ignited over Bagdad sounds good to me.

[MadRobotArtist]

You're absolutely right. With the drop of a hat, gas prices here in Minnesota went up 30 cents. Isn't it interesting that we're going to be hitting that $3.00 mark by summer again? Gee, I wonder why that might be? Surely you would think that with the divine wisdom that our so called leaders have that we wouldn't be dependent on ANYONE for ANYTHING. The agenda of government is to make us all live on a lot less, while they expand government to an abscenely large bloated beast that the impoverished people of America continually have to feed.

We have illegals flooding into our country crippling the surpluses due to the need for entitlements, We have enemies that control oil who are going to get what they want, because our government will capitulate, and lastly we have a government that will not stop at giving up our rights, our freedoms, and our sovereignty. Our government is doing everything it can to cripple itself. Between Being dependent on OPEC Nations, Allowing illegal immigration, and funding the relocations of many different illegal immigrants, giving welfare, and other monies to people who are in our country illegally. Our government is telling people we need to curtail free speech, and give up our 2nd Amendment rights, for the safety of the children. Our government is listening to marxist wackos who say we can't use our resources, or be a world power, because other countries have so little. It's all a big stinking pile of excrement continually shoveled down the throats of Americans who can see and know the truth.

One day when Americans wake up and realize that our country isn't ours anymore, and that our people are gradually being enslaved it will be too late, as we will be disarmed, not allowed to speak the truth, and probably have an implanted chip controlling every facet of our lives. I pray that I'm either young enough to rebel, or too old to care when the inevitable comes.

[Argus]

Actually, it appears that about 6% of our daily consumption is Iraqi oil (marketed under the UN "oil for food" deal), and who knows how much else if we include black market Iraqi oil sold on the spot market. Saddam is no fool - if he succeeds in persuading the Gulf arabs to stop selling us their over-the counter oil, the price for his under-the counter product would go way up.

[womanvet]

This came in an email from a fire-fighting, gun-toting, buddy of mine. Perhaps some FReepers might find the info interesting:

Nothing is more frustrating to me than the feeling that every time I fill up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family and my friends. It turns out that oil companies import a lot of Middle Eastern oil and others do not import any. I thought it might be interesting for Americans to know which oil companies are the best to buy their gas from.

Top five companies that import Middle Eastern oil for the period 9/1/00 to 8/31/01. (By the way, 86% of all Middle Eastern Oil comes from Saudi Arabia and Iraq.)

1. Shell: 7,420,000 barrels of oil
2. Chevron/Texaco: 144,332,000 barrels of oil
3. Exon/Mobil: 130,082,000 barrels of oil
4. Marathon" 117,740,000 barrels of oil
5. BP Amoco: 62,231,000 barrels of oil

If you do the math at $30 per barrel, these imports amount to about $18 billion. That's a lot of money.

The following large companies do not import much, if any, Middle Eastern oil.

1. Citgo: 0 barrels of oil
2. Sunoco: 0
3. Conoco: 0
4. Sinclair: 0
5. Phillips: 0

All of the information is available from the Department of Energy and can be easily documented. Refineries located in the U.S. are required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing. They report on a monthly basis.

Share it with your friends....and stop paying for terrorism!

[JosephW]

I teach Microsoft and Cisco courses at a small private university. The requirements to instruct some of the courses doesn't leave a whole lot of choice to the school. At my school (National American) the liberal problem isn't too great, but I know what you mean.

BTW, when is the next get together planned in the KC area?

[KC_Conspirator]

Yes, but you see that when you are teaching for future MSCE's and on router technology you have to have dedicated students. Liberals thus tend to avoid areas of study that have right or wrong answers (like computers, business, science, math, history, etc.), but rather gravitate to wishy-washy new age areas of study like milticulturalism, diversity, ecoterrorism, social sciences, etc.