The American Spectator : Fear and Loathing on the Arab Trail

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Fear and Loathing on the Arab Trail

By Jed Babbin on 2.28.11 @ 6:08AM

What happens in Saudi Arabia on March 11 could severely disrupt our already-shaken economy.

(Page 2 of 2)

So what happens if — on March 11 or some later time — the Saudi regime falls? There is no possibility that military intervention will keep the oil flowing because the oil fields and oil export facilities are too large and widespread to protect or rebuild in the face of a determined rebellion. We, even with the tiny forces of our NATO allies, would be unable to keep the oil flowing. If the Saudis are overthrown and their successors unable or unwilling to sell us the oil we need, our economy will suffer a depression that will make the 1930s look mild.

For the present, we can do little to save the Saudis. But we can do something to save ourselves. Drill. Drill here, drill now and keep drilling on and offshore. House Republicans should make this their priority, second only to budget cutting.

America’s is a carbon-based economy totally addicted to foreign oil. There’s no use talking about cutting consumption or switching to wind power and such. We need oil, and if we don’t produce it ourselves we will have only ourselves to blame when the despots and dictators who sell it to us go out of business.

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About the Author

Jed Babbin served as a Deputy Undersecretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush. He is the author of several bestselling books including Inside the Asylum and In the Words of Our Enemies. You can follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (59) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

figusja| 2.28.11 @ 7:07AM

I find my self with two opposing thoughts. First and foremost is "YES, They are getting what the deserve for being tyrants in their countries" Then I think "OH OH, now the extremist will control all those countries and have free rain. NO MUSLIM will stand against them. It is not like the average Muslim hate Sharia.
We as Americans are screwed either way. We should make that whole area a glass parking Lot(Nukes for those who don't get it) It would be quicker than the bleeding and haemorrhaging that will happen from the Muslim slowly taking over the rest of the world by out breeding us.

Peppermint Tea| 2.28.11 @ 9:12AM

Any desert country should be happy to have "free rain."

Alan Brooks| 2.28.11 @ 6:51PM

Great riposte. At any rate, soon we will HAVE to go Green. No question about it whatsoever. None.

The writing is on the wall for all to see.

Gatorjoe| 3.1.11 @ 4:55AM

Alan: Your Green is not Green; it's Luddite Red. Windmills and solar panels ain't gonna hack it, baby! Why can't you see this? Is your brain yours?

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.28.11 @ 7:11AM

Mr. Babin,
Well spoken.
...and your conclusion was spot on!
Believe it or not, my new novel examines these issues from top to bottom....peering into the future.
I hope you will contact me at my publishing company for a review copy. sales@texassaidno.com

Having lived and worked in the middle east for years, (As a CEO), I think you will appreciate my "telescope".

Occam's Tool| 2.28.11 @ 3:17PM

Oh, we could keep the oil flowing if the Saudis opposed us, but only at a cost in Saudi blood that our President would be reluctant to pay. The problem is that infantry is a precise weapon of destruction. It may be time for less precise instruments. The oil must flow.

SpiralArchitect | 2.28.11 @ 3:19PM

Having lived in the US for a few years I have picked up on a few things...

Drilling all the oil we have by midnight will not do squat for this nation.

We do not drill for 'gas'. We drill for (aptly named) 'crude' oil. To improve on its condition we must 'refine' the product to be useable in any number of ways.

Be bold, take a moment to see how many functional refineries this nation currently has.

Feeling brave? Look to see how many we had a decade or two or more decades ago.

Oil is useless to this nation until it is refined.
This nation has an incredibly limited abilty to refine oil - nice strategy the gov has prepared.

Mike W| 2.28.11 @ 11:17PM

So you are saying we don't drill for "gas"? Not even natural gas, which we have in massive quantities and which we do drill for extensively?

Occam's Tool| 3.1.11 @ 12:18AM

We need many more refineries, and they should be situated AWAY from Natural Disaster Zones. New Mexico is a useful place. Why we have our refineries exposed to Hurricanes I do not know.

JP| 2.28.11 @ 7:39AM

It goes without saying that without the oil issue, few would even notice these uprisings. But, the West and in particular the US have crafted domestic polices that make oil THE issue. North America possesses the largest reserves of fossisl fuels of all types in the world. The US in particular has a rich array of natural gas, oil, shale, and coal. Canada's tar pits produce enough oil that it is the number one exporter of oil to the US.

But oil is bought and sold in dollars on the world market. The last 2 decades has seen an incrediable rise in alternative fuels lobbying. The Global Warming Alarmists worldwide created through the UN and other Western advocacy groups a irrational narrative which has resulted in the Kyoto Protocols among other things. Today, the US produces less energy through fossil fuels than we did a decade ago. Hence our dependence on imports. To rub salt in the wound. the ethanol industry now has put pressure on our food supply by tieing the price of corn to oil. When oil goes up, so does corn. A weak dollar (the dollar has lost 22% of its value in the last decade alone) now has invitied speculators into the game. Any rumors coming out of East Asia or Africa sends oil prices upward.

Which now brings us back to square one. Last year the Obama Administration put the brakes on new oil leases. It also used last year's accident in the Gulf to hammer energy companies. Many if not most of the rigs in the Gulf now sit idle. And the President's foreign policies are finally catching up to him. His weakness is obvious. He and his team haven't a clue of what to do. He can't even find the courage to dispatch a task force to Lybia to rescue trapped foreigners there. Through Sec Gates he is shutting down much of the naval power used to project our power worldwide, The USS Enterprise is slated to be retired next year. And the most of advanced superiority fighter in the world, the F-22 has been canceled.

Not all of this can be put on Obama's lap. President Bush and the GOP spent the better part of the decade either giving in to the Green Lobby, or even joining them (remember Bush's infamous scolding of the US? He lectured Americans that they had to get off thier addiction to fossil fuels). But Obama and his party went far beyond even the Bush Administration.

Politically, the President and his party are in the same spot Jimmy Carter found himself in late 1978. Inflation threatens to destroy what little growth we have. With pump prices racing to $4/ gallon, we could be seeing a repeat of 2008. If that happens, the US could see 11% unemployment by Christmas and 13% unemployment by election day 2012.

old white guy| 2.28.11 @ 10:43AM

hell, your unemployment is already over 18 percent it will be 25 or 30 percent with riots in the streets and 4 dollars a gallon is low. canada is currently paying about 4.72 a gallon.

Dustoff| 2.28.11 @ 12:35PM

England is 9 bucks... yikes

SpiralArchitect | 2.28.11 @ 3:21PM

OK, what happens when the US Dollar is no longer used as the World Reserve Currency.

Centeral banking is a beautiful thing...right.

Paul Kotik| 2.28.11 @ 7:52AM

Back in early 1974 my Dad and I were waiting in his car on a gas line in New York. The OPEC embargo was in full force. Gasoline was very scarce and very expensive.

He said to me: " Son, you do realize that someday we're going to have to go take it away from them."

He meant the oil, from the Arabs.

Mike W| 2.28.11 @ 11:18PM

So we are going to have to do what Saddam did to Kuwait or what Hitler did to Poland or what Japan did to almost all of SE Asia? So much for American Exceptionalism.

Occam's Tool| 3.1.11 @ 12:19AM

You mean, bring 'em Democracy and stop 'em from raping children, while taking their oil? Gee, I feel so guilty.

Intelligent Design| 2.28.11 @ 8:00AM

How many nuclear power plants have been built in the U.S. since 9/11/01? How many in the past 30 years? Zero or 3? We should have 100 nuclear power plants under construction, right now. But instead of taking action, we have been locked in fear generated by Three Mile Island and a movie starring Jane Fonda called "China Syndrome". The radiation released at 3 Mile was about the same as a chest X-ray. France generates about 80% of its electricity from nuclear plants, and recycles most of the waste. The United States is stuck on stupid.

ncatty| 2.28.11 @ 10:56AM

You are correct.

Occam's Tool| 2.28.11 @ 3:19PM

When the French are less wussified than the US, we are in trouble.

mjfin| 2.28.11 @ 5:33PM

Dead on ID:

Small Modular Nuclear Powerplants

Potential solutions are on the horizon. Recently industrial giant Bechtel and Babcock and Wilcox (makes navy ship nuclear power plants) have partnered to build Small Modular Nuclear plants.

These plants have the following features:

1) Small ~250 MW - 10 - 20% full size plants, enough for a small city.
2) Manufactured in factories and shipped nearly intact to building site. Factory manufacture generates predictable, routine, safe production and restricts most nuisance environmental lawsuits to one-time events.
3) Modular. Need more power for a growing city? Add a module.
4) Local power. More, small plants reduce national grid requirements.
5) Terrorist resistant. Plants are underground and inaccessible. Fuel is radioactively and thermally hot. Cannot be stolen in less than days even with large equipment.
6) Fail-safe. Coolant continues to work on a hot plant even if all power is shut down.

Other companies are producing similar plants.

Similar units are already under construction in China and elsewhere.

Bechtel & B&W are seeking approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to begin sales. Naturally this takes years, while China has such plants under construction.

Approval should be fast-tracked (or at least ordinary tracked). The U.S. should begin to mass-produce these plants, and also re-open the Nevada nuclear waste underground storage facility.

jawin| 2.28.11 @ 7:20PM

The US Navy has been operating "fail safe" or inherently safe nuclear reactor for decades. They also have an impeccable record. That we haven't built 500 of these nuclear plants around the country speaks loudly of the lack of spine exhibited in our country's leadership.

Occam's Tool| 3.1.11 @ 12:20AM

Yeah, I read about those mini reactors. Great idea.

GreginOkinawa| 3.1.11 @ 8:44AM

OK, so how do nuclear power plants substitue for gas and diesel for our vehicles?

bf| 3.2.11 @ 5:13PM

They produce electricity which can be used to produce hydrogen which can be used as an energy carrier like gasoline: liquefied, transported, and pumped. It can fuel internal combustion engines or hydrogen fuel cells (more efficient).

Louis Jenkins| 2.28.11 @ 8:12AM

There you have it all wrapped up in the conclusion of Mr. Babbin's article. This nation runs on energy, and yesterday, in church, our pastor actually spoke of the disaster in store for the US. Boys and girls, men and women of the USA, we'd better get to talking to our elected representatives about this issue, or we'll be caught flat footed. Tea Party people, you too. I've read of oil production in one Texas oil field that is limited by the size of the pipeline, a pipeline too small to carry the product, and the Greenies will not let them install a bigger pipeline. I'll defer to Old Texican on this issue, but it sounds like the Green Keepers do not have our best issues in mind. The dictaters and despots are going out of business. It's time we hang out our own shingle and produce for ourselve.

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.28.11 @ 9:01AM

Louis,
thank you.
The whole green thing might prove to be literally catastrophic to our entire economy.

Their, (the Greens), intrusions are simply mind boggling and the list is too long to even scratch the surface here.

Just as a tiny side note...our sky scrapers and office buildings here in the South all have sealed windows. One literally cannot survive in an office in those buildings without air-conditioning.
If gasoline goes to $8 per gallon, that also means those buildings will have their electric bills go up 400%.
We are literally looking at a catastrophe.

Mimi| 2.28.11 @ 9:04AM

This situation is sounding like an EMERGENCY and here we are with " The Fool" we elected in 2008 in the White-house dancing the night away! The Guy has the worst " Karma" everything he touches or does , turns out bad....poor timing and choices.
I used to think he owed us all an APOLOGY....Now, forget that ! Start drilling!
Put a stop to any funds going to the EPA....they've done enough damage to this country. Why when were down, would you try to hurt the economy more? The DEM'S better wise up!!!

chris haynes| 2.28.11 @ 9:06AM

Nuclear power?

Less than 2% of our electricity comes from oil. What does nuclear power have to do with oil?

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.28.11 @ 9:14AM

Chris,
you are misinformed....sorta.... see natural gas comes out of the same holes as oil. some 40% of our electricity is derived from gas.

JimH| 2.28.11 @ 12:43PM

Also, once you have cheap electricity battery or fuel cell powered vehicles can start to make sense. At least in some applications. In the long run oil is to valuable to burn.

Intelligent Design| 2.28.11 @ 12:58PM

We have a couple of hundred million vehicles which could be running on electric batteries (completely or partially) instead of running on gasoline. Also, nuclear is a much cleaner source of electricity than coal. In addition to electric/battery powered cars, trucks and buses could be running on natural gas instead of gasoline and diesel.

The latest political uprisings in the Middle East demonstrate how much damage can be done to our economy when the flow of oil is disrupted, or when there is just the threat of disruption. Our national security continues to be threatened by dependence on foreign oil.

Fred Z| 2.28.11 @ 10:53PM

Last time I looked, it took more oil to build the batteries and recharge them than would be used by a good diesel car. A VW diesel jetta of an elderly vintage did better.

Moi, I am Canucki, an Albertan, and I profit from American stupidity, even though I am embarrassed and fearful to watch the collapse of a great nation.

Pellligrino| 3.3.11 @ 3:44AM

Fred Z., good to have you aboard here.

But I am sure you realize: If the US goes in the clinker, the provinces of Canada do likewise.

We're in this together.

JohnPatrick| 3.3.11 @ 8:53PM

Remember, every drop of oil or BTU of natgas not used for electricity generation (nuclear instead) is freed up for use in transportation - cars, trucks, planes, trains, buses...

Martin Owens| 2.28.11 @ 10:30AM

The Saudi military " quite capable?" There must've been one hell of a change since I was over there!

Michael L. Hauschild| 2.28.11 @ 11:24AM

Drill, construct, campaign, repeal, and impeach.

prestonsbrooks| 2.28.11 @ 12:03PM

Barry X wants the ME in turmoil. He wants America's economy to crash like the Hindenburg. Banning US drilling is part of The Plan. Some of you think Barry X is an American and works for us. Wrong.

SpiralArchitect | 2.28.11 @ 3:26PM

People often speak of our 1/2 black President.

Seldom do you hear of the other 1/2 - the Muslim half.

Dave Williams| 2.28.11 @ 12:45PM

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the Saudi royal family keeps a jet running in a hangar 24/7, just in case they have to make a hasty exit. Interesting, if true....does anyone know whether this is actually the case, or just an urban legend?

Martin Owens| 3.1.11 @ 1:23AM

The word we got in the Military Assistance Group , Jeddah, was that there was not merely a " bugout flight" but a whole bugout SQUADRON of a dozen c-130's specifically tasked with bringing out the King and senior princes, the wives, diamonds, Cadillacs...
Whether they actually had the engines turning over , well I doubt that, you'll burn 'em up in a few hours that way. But no one doubted that in case of real trouble, the ruling class was well prepared to make tracks. And likely still is.

Gatorjoe| 3.1.11 @ 5:47AM

Dave: First of all, there are more than 2000 royal princes; I'm sure they're also fond of the multi-thousand princesses and the kids.There would have to be more than a few Boeing 747s and Airbus A400s. I lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for two years with Lockheed back in the late 70s, when conditions were Spartan, but when most Saudis were friendly to Americans. Also, when I returned to the U.S., I noticed how biased was our press, regarding events in the Middle East; and how ignorant were most of our citizens, regarding anything Islamic or Arabic. I am not an apologist for Muslim extremists. But there are always two sides to any story. Gasoline, medical care, food and housing are pretty affordable for most of its citizens.

Pelligrino| 3.3.11 @ 4:10AM

Gatorjoe, don't know where you were or exactly when but here's a current/real story out of the perverted Saudi Kingdom:

Young Asian woman mid twenties who is a very proficient mathematics and English teacher gets a "golden kite" job offer from the Saudi capital.

She arrived in September 2010 and started her job. She was teaching at what we would call the Middle School level in a school for very advanced and privileged Saudi kids.

A problem arises in October: She's pregnant. No, not from the Saudi businessman/prince? who was trying to seduce her on a regular basis. She is pregnant from her boyfriend back home.

Greater problem: Although a foreigner, she is subject to Saudi laws. You see, she cannot be pregnant and not be wed. She has to hide her pregnancy; she has great difficulty trying to secretly attain medical attention.

Problem: Under Saudi law, she is not to be working while pregnant (this is how it was explained to us).

Other problems: Her Saudi confidant pseudo supervisor states that the only solution is an abortion.

This results in real conflict because the young woman is a Christian (admiting her personal errors of unwed intimacy) firmly stating that abortion is not an option. Her supervisor now gives her great grief. The very real threat is there daily of revealing her "secret."

Knowing that the life inside her is more important than anything, this young woman wants to immediately return to her Asian home but is thwarted because this violates her 3-year work contract. (at this point she is up for punishment for wanting to nullify this work contract after only 2-3 months of work)

Thankfully she is not showing and can work (she needs the money; there is no support for her in Saudi if she ceases work) until early December.

Incidentally: No help from home country government for this woman.

She is in mid December -- thankfully -- flown out of Saudi back home on a ruse. Something that troubled all the Christians involved because a ruse is a lie. And it was several lies that seemed needed to spring her free.

One can Monday Morning Quarterback this one a lot, but...

Exactly what kind of country is Saudi Arabia?

I am sure that there are many far, far worse real, current stories.

Speedbump| 2.28.11 @ 2:15PM

I seem to remember a common response to "Drill here, drill now" as being "It will take years for any new wells and refineries to come on line, so why bother?"

Here we are a few years further down the road and we could be that much closer to being independent, but we aren't. Maybe we've got the government we deserve.

John| 2.28.11 @ 2:27PM

this is a watershed in American geopolitical thinking. If America puts all it's support behind the Arab revolution it will continue to prosper in ME. You need ditch the Saudi monarchy ASAP. Make a strategic alliance with a free Muslim world. This is entirely possible. with such an alliance America will prosper. The alternative does not bear thinking about.

W| 2.28.11 @ 4:25PM

there is no free muslim world. name one nation.

John| 2.28.11 @ 6:19PM

Take your foot off the throat of the ME. Freedom. You guys have never supported or wanted freedom. you want control. And there is no limit you wont go to achieve that . The ME revolution will put a big dent into imperialism . Freedom you can believe in.

W| 2.28.11 @ 7:07PM

name on free muslim nation. define "you." the United States was established in 1789. Name one free muslim country that existed before 1789, or 1914, or at any time in history. since you use the word freedom, i assume you know freedom means representative government, free elections, respect for private property, freedom of religion, press, and by the way: NO stoning of women.

W| 2.28.11 @ 7:20PM

johny, stop pretending to be a muslim, and writing bad grammar, pretending to be from the ME, as you call it. don't you know it is condescending on your part to believe muslims cannot write good grammar english? try reading Rushdie. either you are a condescending lefty or a lefty that cannot write.

John| 2.28.11 @ 9:03PM

My argument is not that freedom is not desirable it is that America does not believe in it. This is obvious to anybody who cares to look at American policies in ME. if you look on the saudijeans website you will see how Saudis are attempting to take the first tentative steps towards democracy . Will you support that. Democracy is a process sometime
Two steps forward followed by one step backwards . Democracy is always an unfinished project. The Arab people are just beginning to take the first steps. They've surprised so far who knows how far they will go. One thing is for sure there will be no encouragement from you guys.

W| 3.1.11 @ 3:31PM

focus on the question, john, and answer it. name one free muslim country at any time in history.
save you the trouble of answering: NONE.
look to your own nations, stop obsessing about the US. we are free. you are not.

Occam's Tool| 3.1.11 @ 12:22AM

The battle of Lepanto, John. Europe on the ropes and the islamic world advancing. Not One Free Muslim State. Sorry.

chris haynes | 2.28.11 @ 3:19PM

If we didnt think the Arabs were reliable, we should have made oil ourselves.

But ourleadership, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan Bush Clinton, Bush, Obama under them, we depended on our military, and now they cant assure a reliable supply of oil.

We could supply ourselves for hundreds of years by making oil from coal, like the Germans and South Africans did. It's easier if we use our plentiful gas instead of coal. Or we can mine Rocky mountain shale, which will give us enough oil for 500 years, long after Libya and Saudi run out.

But we didnt do these things. Instead we relied on military. Now we find it wont work, after wasting trillions.

PattyMor| 2.28.11 @ 4:14PM

It seems to me that the U.S. is being squeezed by the Communist/Socialist/Union/Islamist alliance. Hussein has shut down our oil production in the Gulf and rescinded leases that Bush gave out. Now the Middle East is in turmoil, and the Chinese have been going around the world locking up supplies. Venezuela is going to ship their oil to China. Its a perfect storm. Tighten your seat belts, its going to get rough.
Prepare for the worst.

Mike W| 2.28.11 @ 11:29PM

Apparently there are many misconceptions about energy.

First off, oil produced in the US will be priced at world market levels. I'm not saying we shouldn't produce what we have but don't expect it to be much cheaper. The easy oil in the US has been found and produced. High oil prices are making the less easy oil more economically feasible however supply and demand control this market. Cheap oil will reduce the amount of production and the market is always looking for equilibrium.

We have zillions of BTUs of eneryg in this country in coal and natural gas. Those energy forms aren't good for powering your car however. Nukes could also be used but their benefit in the oil problem would be that they can power the grid to allow for more electric cars. Nukes won't fix the oil problem otherwise.

Oil is a miracle liquid. No other fuel matches it's energy and transportability. It's a finite resource however.

chris haynes| 3.1.11 @ 5:23PM

We use Mideast oil because it's subsized by the goverment.

The Pentagon budget goes largely to the mideast. If we didnt have this subsidy, it would pay to make out oil from coal. And there are other bad things about using the military. People can get killed.

IzeHavitt| 3.3.11 @ 5:28PM

A while ago, this observer did a little calculating and came up with the following conclusion: Based upon figures from- if I remember correctly- the Energy Information Administration; the bulk of our oil usage is for fuels (read: gasoline or diesel). The rest of the usage has to do with petroleum as a feedstock for all sorts of synthetic materials, such as textiles, caulks, road building materials, and all sorts of other components of manufacture. It turns out that these feedstock needs also equate to what oil we can produce domestically. So it's the fuel portion that is problematic. If we could find some viable alternative to hydrocarbon power transmission systems, then it seems likely that we'd be okay. Not only that, we could stop the ongoing financial hemorrhaging of our money to those who hate us.

Creative Recreation | 8.11.11 @ 2:38AM

is good

العاب بنات | 4.11.12 @ 6:14PM

Centeral banking is a beautiful thing

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