Doug’s Mouthpiece – Droug.co.uk

Does anyone in the Middle East want peace?

Weapons of mass destruction, biological threats and the fight against terrorism were just a few of the reasons given for entering into war in Iraq. However, there is little denying the true attraction of waging war in Iraq.…..

As with any battle, there are spoils to be had – none as rich as the Iraqi oil fields. The current uncertainty on the future of oil supplies can be felt throughout the West, from the highest seats of power straight down to the domestic petrol pumps. The uncertainty definitely bodes well for countries in the Middle East as the unstable environment drives oil prices through the roof. The longer the period of uncertainty there is the higher the price of oil. So by having the West involved in the war on Iraq, more oil tycoons will increase their revenues unless the US and its counterparts rescind their troops which isn’t going to happen anytime soon whilst Mr Bush is in power.

Since the start of the war, the price of oil has quadrupled, reaching an all-time high of $111 on March 17. While oil supplies and reserves are at an all-time high, production in many OPEC countries is operating at maximum capacity and demand is unchanged, the question remains: who is to blame?

The war is now five years old and according to Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz, will be the most expensive war in history. Its current cost is believed to be in excess of three trillion dollars.

The discovery of oil in 1908 has left this Middle Eastern nation as the playground for war games and power struggles for one hundred years. According to the US Energy Information Administration, “Iraq is important to world energy markets because it holds more than 112 billion barrels of oil – the world’s second largest reserves. Iraq also contains 110 trillion cubic feet of gas.”

While many would blame the OPEC countries themselves, it seems that this vast increase in oil prices may have a US-grown conspirator, with many financial analysts are blaming speculators for this massive increase in prices per barrel.

So what happens now?

In the short term the oil companies and the oil exporters are making fortunes, but are they forcing oil importing nations to look at alternative energy sources? Or maybe not???

Doug not amused

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Politics written by Doug Scott