I have watched it happen for a long time, but it still amazes me to watch America's liberal mainstream media misunderstand the world; very complex issues get reduced to simplistic stories that sound more like talking points than fact. I was struck by this today again when I read a piece in Time magazine describing how Saudi Arabia is not really that important anymore. The thesis of the author is that since America has increased its oil output, the fate of the Saudis is no longer a major issue for the USA or the world. In truth, however, that is a ridiculous assertion.
First of all, there is no question that American oil and gas output has been soaring. Despite president Obama's efforts to slow the growth of production, America's gas wells now produce more than those in any other country and we have become the second largest oil producer as well. The oil production boom which has resulted from horizontal drilling and fracking have move about ten percent of our daily oil needs from imported oil to domestic production. Nevertheless, we still import about half of all the oil we use each day in this country. As anyone who drives can tell you, changes to the world oil markets have major impacts across the country. The recent drop in oil prices have paid dividends to drivers as they fill up their tanks for $10 or $15 less each week. A jump in world oil prices would work that way in reverse.
The single biggest variable in world oil production, however, remains the Saudis. They are the only ones who can ramp up production to flood the market or cut back production to bring supply and demand into better balance. They also have the ability to cut production to a point where prices will soar. It is a power that no other country has.
In addition to being able to control world oil prices, the Saudis also have extraordinary wealth. Decades of being the world's oil superpower has allowed the kingdom to amass major amounts of money. Saudi wealth dwarfs anything else in the Middle East. Were the Saudi money to move towards the terrorists, the world would be facing a catastrophe.
The Saudis are also the guardians of Mecca. All Moslems face Mecca when they pray, and that is not because they like the climate there. Mecca is the holiest site of Islam, and control of Mecca makes the Saudis extremely important. Anything that happens to the kingdom affects all of the world's Moslems.
The simplest way to put all this is that Saudi Arabia is extremely important both to the USA and to the world. For Time to claim that the Saudis are no longer important because the USA produces a bit more oil than it used to is ludicrous. It shows a complete lack of understanding of why the Saudis are important in the first place. Of course, it is Time, so we cannot expect too much.
First of all, there is no question that American oil and gas output has been soaring. Despite president Obama's efforts to slow the growth of production, America's gas wells now produce more than those in any other country and we have become the second largest oil producer as well. The oil production boom which has resulted from horizontal drilling and fracking have move about ten percent of our daily oil needs from imported oil to domestic production. Nevertheless, we still import about half of all the oil we use each day in this country. As anyone who drives can tell you, changes to the world oil markets have major impacts across the country. The recent drop in oil prices have paid dividends to drivers as they fill up their tanks for $10 or $15 less each week. A jump in world oil prices would work that way in reverse.
The single biggest variable in world oil production, however, remains the Saudis. They are the only ones who can ramp up production to flood the market or cut back production to bring supply and demand into better balance. They also have the ability to cut production to a point where prices will soar. It is a power that no other country has.
In addition to being able to control world oil prices, the Saudis also have extraordinary wealth. Decades of being the world's oil superpower has allowed the kingdom to amass major amounts of money. Saudi wealth dwarfs anything else in the Middle East. Were the Saudi money to move towards the terrorists, the world would be facing a catastrophe.
The Saudis are also the guardians of Mecca. All Moslems face Mecca when they pray, and that is not because they like the climate there. Mecca is the holiest site of Islam, and control of Mecca makes the Saudis extremely important. Anything that happens to the kingdom affects all of the world's Moslems.
The simplest way to put all this is that Saudi Arabia is extremely important both to the USA and to the world. For Time to claim that the Saudis are no longer important because the USA produces a bit more oil than it used to is ludicrous. It shows a complete lack of understanding of why the Saudis are important in the first place. Of course, it is Time, so we cannot expect too much.
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