At its two-hour emergency meeting in Vienna on October 24, the Organization of Oil Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to lower crude production by 1.5 million barrels/day (b/d), effective next month.
Continued on Page 47
#2
Does this help or hinder the Second Coming of the Twelveth Iman?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
10/31/2008 13:08 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Maybe they can get a bail out from Congress.
They can try calling back later next week.
Posted by: Kelly ||
10/31/2008 14:47 Comments ||
Top||
#4
So their options involve making trouble in Iraq, the Gulf or Israel. They've threatened to close the Straits of Hormuz before, which would hurt us and others, but how long could they keep it closed? OTOH, if the Straits were closed or if they were blockaded as a result of making trouble in Iraq or the Gulf how long would they last without any revenue at all?
#5
The Saudis may actually have to make some choices after a long while, especially since they've basically only made two in their history - sign up with the US post-WWII, and the embargo in the 70's.
1 - cast their lot with China, and/or India, but that seems a bit premature.
2 - make a deal with Iran, which is possible, but not likely permanent; or
3 - make peace with Israel, which has both huge risks and huge benefits.
Persian seems to be everyone's oldest historic enemy, from the Aegean to the Indus, and present circumstances can hardly inspire confidence.
Making peace with Israel only requires undoing 60 years or so of intensely ugly acts, and requires unusually decisive leadership, both unlikely, but would skewer both the Persians and the Russians as competitors to Europe, let alone beyond. A grand deal would also need to include African neighbors, and uproot Chinese influence there.
Doing nothing will probably prevail, but calling Iran's bluff will someday not work.
(CNSNews.com) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted on Thursday that the imminent collapse of international "bullies" would be a good opportunity to spread Islam and Iran's Islamic Revolution. Ahmadinejad did not mention the U.S. by name but said that the "bullying powers" were on the verge of collapse because they are hated by the nations of the world, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
Addressing a meeting of Islamic scholars and religious leaders, Ahmadinejad said that "all nations are looking for a new way as they lost their hope [in] the big powers."
The present situation "is a great chance to introduce pure Islamic thoughts and ideals as well as Iran's Islamic Revolution," he said.
Retired Israeli army Lt.-Col Jonathan Halevi, a counter-terrorism expert, told CNSNews.com in an earlier interview that Iran has been using the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah as a "long-arm" to spread its Islamic revolution throughout the world.
In an address to the United Nations last month, Ahmadinejad charged that the "American empire in the world" was "reaching the end of its road."
Ahmadinejad's latest comments came a day after Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani threatened the U.S. with suicide bombings in response to an alleged U.S. counter-insurgency strike five miles inside Syria earlier this week.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11139 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
ION WORLD MIL FORUM > SOUTH KOREA MUST STOP LEAFLET PROPAGANDA PROGRAM OR NORTH WILL MAKE "DECISION OF CHANGE", INCLUD UNSPECIFIED POSSIBLE MILITARY ACTION AGZ SOUTH.
* TOPIX > NORTH KOREA TELLS/WARNS SOUTH KOREA: STOP LEAFLETS, OR ELSE!
HMMMMMM, HMMMMMMM, all this fracas over TRASH/PAPER-FROM-THE-SKIES > Methinks NOKOR probs are MUCH WORSE THAN THE MSM-NET REPORTS???
A Syrian television station is reporting that the country is reducing the number of troops on its border with Iraq in response to a deadly U.S. cross-border raid. Syrian and Iraqi officials did not immediately confirm the report.
Presumably that's to ostentatiously allow as many jihadis as please come tromping into Iraq.
The private station, Dunia, showed footage Thursday of Syrian troops dismantling positions on the border and leaving the area. The report says the act was a Syrian response to the "American aggression."
Normally armies don't retreat within their own country if they're not at war...
On Sunday, the U.S. military launched a deadly raid into Syria. Washington hasn't formally acknowledged the raid. But U.S. officials say the target was a top al-Qaida in Iraq figure who operated a network that smuggled fighters into Iraq.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11155 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Presumably that's to ostentatiously allow as many jihadis as please come tromping into Iraq.
#2
Who is going to issue the muj their "Jihadi's Guide to the Islamic State of Iraq" and their travelers checks? Maybe we could set up some kind of reception line on the Iraqi side for them....
Posted by: Boss Cravilet8390 ||
10/31/2008 9:16 Comments ||
Top||
#3
with the troops pulled back who is going to guide the jihadis to the border and protect them en route?
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
10/31/2008 16:33 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Then again, they simply could be getting out of the way.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.