[Eleutheria5]

"..... As Pipes noted back in 2002: “Oil revenues helped give militant Islam a start; but once up and running… it [militant Islam] no longer depends on this financial boost as shown by oil revenues having several times in the intervening years gone down without a noticeable reduction in militant Islam's steady gains.”

In short, therefore, growing energy independence for the West via oil shale (a pleasing development in its own right) seems unlikely to hamper significantly the problem of Islamist ideology.

The only real solution- necessary, but difficult and almost certainly long-term- is honest reform within mainstream Islam to counter appeal to traditional notions of waging jihad against non-Muslims and imposing Shari’a in the public realm."

He forgets one small detail, though. As the importance of Saudi Arabia and OPEC diminishes, and the West becomes independent of Middle Eastern oil, the West will stop pussyfooting around and deal decisively with the barbaric morons who are bent on conquering it.

Rioting in Paris? Tear gas, water cannon, mass arrests and transit back to Algeria, Libya, or wherever, French citizenship revoked.

Refuse to make piece with Israel? OK. That's over. We're annexing J&S and anyone who won't behave leaves.

[mountainlion]

Israel will be a larger supplier to Europe than Opec. USA reserves will cause complete recovery as soon as Obama is gone and his antiAmerican brain trust is removed. 2012 will start the world recovery without obstructionist enviro thugs and their buddies the liberals.

[Melchior]

There is evidence aplenty that despite all the Obama and Progressive Marxists will do to block our petroleum developments the US will be petroleum self-sufficient by 2020.

[Erik Latranyi]

As the US becomes more energy independent (and more based on friendly sources) OPEC will be forced to drop prices in hopes of regaining market share.

Regardless, it will be good for our economy to have low-cost energy and abundance sources at home and from friends.

[wmfights]

He forgets one small detail, though. As the importance of Saudi Arabia and OPEC diminishes, and the West becomes independent of Middle Eastern oil, the West will stop pussyfooting around and deal decisively with the barbaric morons who are bent on conquering it.

Great analysis.

These breakthroughs in technology and the size of the reserves are so great as hard as the liberals try to stop this resource development they will fail. Energy, jobs, independence will push aside the liberals and the courts. The local communities and the states that will see the immediate benefits will push it through.

[MarkL]

The chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company- Aramco- has admitted that the development of large oil shale reserves in North America looks set to shift the monopoly over global energy supplies increasingly away from the Middle East.

Which explains Obama's reluctance to allow the development of energy resources within the US. Obama was raised believing that America was the root of evil in the world, and he's hell-bent on taking the US "down a notch." Or ten. I think he's a believer in Said's "Orientalism," certainly a believer in "liberation theology," as well as having a deep belief in the supremacy of islam.

Mark