[thackney]

OPEC unexpectedly keeps lid on oil production *updated*
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/06/08/opec-likely-to-increase-oil-production/

OPEC officials said the lack of agreement meant that OPEC will maintain present output ceilings with the option of meeting within the next three months for a possible production hike.

“We are unable to reach consensus to … raise our production,” OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Al-Badri told reporters, in comments reflecting unusual tensions in the 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Analysts covering OPEC for more than 20 years said they could not remember any other time that the normally closed group had admitted to such divisions in its ranks

[gogogodzilla]

In other words, Iran and Venezuela called for higher prices to support their socialist ‘freebies’ that are used to buy their population’s loyalty and Saudi Arabia called for more production.

And all the rest of the countries didn’t care either way.

[Conservative Vermont Vet]

I'm not sure what we (or any other country) could do about OPEC, but I wish someone who is running for the Republican Nomination would at least address this issue, other than "The Donald" who suggested we could take them on and challenge their stranglehold on production, thus affecting to a degree, the price we all pay.

My suggestion--which I know would never come to pass, but we can dream can't we?--would be that any country which belongs to OPEC would be immediately cut off from any foreign aid.

Secondly, any country who belongs to OPEC and for whom we provide any military defense (our good "buds"--NOT--The Saudis come to mind) we would charge them thru the nose for said protection.

If they balked or refused, then fine. Let them seek same protection from China, some EU Country or even Russia and see how long they last.