Saturday, October 8, 2022

OPEC’s body blow to Biden presidency — M. K. Bhadrakumar

Oil, geopolitics and the petrodollar.

"It's the energy, stupid." Economics run on energy.

This was entirely predictable as a result of the policy to address climate change through ESG. This resulted in less investment in non-renewable energy resources, which will still be needed in relative abundance through a transition that will take a relatively long time under the best of circumstances. 

Instead the world is facing the worst of circumstances, war and preparation for war. Militaries are notorious for the amount of carbon fuel they require for training, let alone actual operations.

As M. K. Bhadrakumar observes, this is really an economic war in which real resources are key rather than financial resources. An advantage of economic warfare is that it is non-violent. The problem with it is that it is a path to kinetic warfare as competition for scarce resources intensifies.

India Punchline
OPEC’s body blow to Biden presidency
MK. Bhadrakumar | retired diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service and former ambassador.

6 comments:

Peter Pan said...

We were always going to burn fossil fuels to the bitter end.

And most people still believe that technology will save us from a lower energy future.

The myth of progress dies hard.

Peter Pan said...

A colour revolution is unrealistic but a palace coup to block MBS from succession is a possibility.

How about an ISIS/ISIL revolution?
Their colour is black, and they would show no mercy to the Saudi royal family.

Ahmed Fares said...

The last time that happened, the French intervened.

In the early morning of 20 November 1979, the imam of the Grand Mosque, Sheikh Mohammed al-Subayil, was preparing to lead prayers for the 50,000 worshippers who had gathered for prayer. At around 5:00 am he was interrupted by insurgents who produced weapons from under their robes, chained the gates shut and killed two policemen who were armed with only wooden clubs for disciplining unruly pilgrims. The number of insurgents has been given as "at least 500" or "four to five hundred", and included several women and children who had joined al-Otaybi's movement.

Soon after the rebel seizure, about 100 security officers of the Ministry of Interior attempted to retake the mosque, but were turned back with heavy casualties. The survivors were quickly joined by units of the Saudi Arabian Army and Saudi Arabian National Guard. At the request of the Saudi monarchy, French GIGN units, operatives and commandos were rushed to assist Saudi forces in Mecca.

On 9 January 1980, 63 rebels were publicly beheaded in the squares of eight Saudi cities (Buraidah, Dammam, Mecca, Medina, Riyadh, Abha, Ha'il and Tabuk). According to Sandra Mackey, the locations "were carefully chosen not only to give maximum exposure but, one suspects, to reach other potential nests of discontent."


Grand Mosque seizure

It was because of this incident that the House of Saud gave more power to the clerics, on the condition that all their activities would take place outside the kingdom... which led to 9/11...

Khaled, however, did not react to the upheaval by cracking down on religious puritans in general, but by giving the ulama and religious conservatives more power over the next decade. He is thought to have believed that "the solution to the religious upheaval was simple: more religion."

Peter Pan said...

To be willing to do business with the Saudis, you have to be amoral.

mike norman said...

US will crush OPEC even if it means Americans will go without gas. Our rulers don't care. It's all about getting other nations to tow the line.

Joe said...

"How about an ISIS/ISIL revolution?
Their colour is black, and they would show no mercy to the Saudi royal family."

Well that'd be no way for ISIS to treat their funders.