sharp as a whipple

The peak oil crisis: the Saudi op-ed
...The Saudis could, however, bring pressure without doing anything so provocative as a major production cut. Simply ratcheting down production in an unobtrusive manner should be enough to scare Washington into reconsidering leaving Riyadh, as the leader of the world's Sunnis to deal with the mess on its own.
Just before President Bush met with the Iraqi Prime Minister in Jordan last week, Vice President Cheney was summoned to Riyadh to receive the whole Saudi message. It may be many years before we learn exactly what that message was, but already President Bush is back to talking about "staying the course."

Tom Whipple brilliantly ties together the peak oil situation as it relates to Saudi Ariaba with the strategic position of the United States.

There isn't much else to say. The region is in a fix. The world is in a fix. The United States imperial efforts to control one country completely, and use it as a wedge in the Middle East have failed. Israel, pal and friend to the U.S., has yet to figure this out.

The turd rainbow must now be unweaved.

Given the situation that exists now, I personally favor a federal system, partitioning Iraq into three states, taking tough measures to prevent genocide. Whatever course is taken, sensitive yet robust leadership is required, though not forthcoming. I find Robert Fisk's back-handed suggestion that US citizenship be granted to all Iraqi's as worthy of consideration. The U.S. can call it a reservation, name the natives "indians" and let them sell fireworks to the crackers in the Green Zone.