Oil used again in another U.S. false campaign

To what lengths will the government of U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH go to pursue its desire for more oil?

Many critics wrote that the WAR ON AFGHANISTAN to oust the Taliban regime, WAR ON IRAQ to oust SADDAM HUSSEIN and the WAR ON TERROR generally, are not about rooting out "terrorists" and security for the Americans as the President claimed and still clams. These wars are really about securing the profits of American oil companies doing business internationally. The State doesn’t usually tell the truth about its real motives and hidden agendas

But recently, PRESIDENT BUSH used his "State of the Union" address to start a new campaign of lies and deception, this time claiming that the U.S. needs to start free itself from the reliance on the Arabs for oil supplies.

"The U.S. is addicted to the oil that is most often exported from unstable parts of the world…By implementing the U.S. talents and technology; it is possible for this country to tremendously improve our environment and to transcend an economy reliant on oil products. It makes our reliance on the Middle East oil something from the past."

True the world is in need of additional alternatives for energy- But the U.S. already spends hundred billions of dollars every year in studies to find new energy sources.

BUSH's speech was basically setting reducing more than 75% of the oil exports from the Middle East as a prime goal for the U.S. before the end of 2025.

The misconception imparted by the American President is reflected in the lie that the U.S. depends mainly or hugely on the Arab states and the Middle East for its oil supplies. These countries, according to the address implication, are extorting Washington view the importance of these supplies in the U.S. economy, an editorial on Dar Al Hayat website stated recently.

An evidence that the American President is twisting facts is that the U.S. doesn’t fear a possible halt of oil imports from Iran if it managed to get the Security Council impose sanctions as it did to IRAQ earlier.

This is because Iran does not export oil to the U.S. because of the embargo imposed by Washington on the Iranian oil nearly a quarter of a century ago.

Another fact that’s being ignored is that the U.S. consumes around 22 millions barrels of crude oil per day and imports out of this total nearly 13.50 million barrels a day, according to 2005 figures.

The Middle East share of these imports represents 2.4 million barrels, 1.51 million barrels from Saudi Arabia, 523 thousand barrels from Iraq, 216 thousand barrels from Kuwait, 55 thousand barrels from Libya, and minor quantities from other Arab states.

So oil imports from the Middle East and the Arabs represent only about 10% of the total U.S. consumption. A shocking fact is that over the past years, the Saudi oil exports represented nearly 15% of oil imports, which is the same percentage for Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela.

Currently, U.S. domestic oil production supplies nearly 50% of total U.S. consumption, with foreign sources from Canada, Venezuela, Mexico, and several African countries providing the rest.

So the "monstrous" reliance the PRESIDENT complained about in his speech doesn’t really exist- Where is this "stick" the Arab countries allegedly brandish to "extort" the U.S? It is just another lie.

People need to differentiate between the fact that the U.S. seeks to lay hands on the Arab oil and the fact that currently oil coming from the Arab world and the Middle East represents a small percentage of the U.S. oil imports.

Securing the flow of affordable oil is the cornerstone the BUSH  administration’s policy in the Middle East. The dual containment of Iran and Iraq, as part of the U.S. President plan aimed at ensuring that neither Iraq nor Iran is capable of "threatening neighboring Gulf countries", is also linked to Washington’s oil policy.

Gulf oil had always been and will comtinue to be of a huge importance because of its impact on the global economy. America's competitors in Europe and Japan depend hugely on Gulf oil.

30% of Europe's and nearly 80% of Japan’s oil come from the Gulf. Thus by exerting great influence on the Arab and the Middle East states, the U.S. is keeping the control over its competitors in its hands.