I'm outraged to be subjected to the Middle East spectacle of grown men playing the childish game of "Mine is bigger than yours!" On the one side are ranged the United States, Great Britain, the Sunni nations and Israel. On the other side are Iran and various Shi'a segments scattered throughout Islamic lands.
And the prize is still the almighty God Oil, urged on and cheered by the giants of the oil industry: British Petroleum, Anadarko Petroleum, Apache, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy, Ensco International, ExxonMobil, Greka Energy, Hess, HKN Inc, Koch Industries, Marathon Oil, Murphy Oil, Occidental Petroleum, Plains Exploration & Production, Sovereign Group, Vaalco Energy, XTO Energy, Royal Dutch Shell, et al.
Stupid men's games, glorified by the media, featuring various trophy wives and yachts and gas-wasting SUVs, Congressmen and women and Senators held in thrall by the oil industry and all of the other trashy baggage of the war games corporations play.
WASHINGTON — Amid an escalating war of words between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. and European officials on Wednesday expressed confidence that there was no imminent threat to the passageway through which some 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil travels daily.
Instead, they said, the latest Iranian threat to close the route reflected Tehran's anger at the U.S. pledge to impose sanctions on its nuclear program that for the first time directly target Iran's oil exports, the source of some 80 percent of its government revenue.
A European Union diplomat said that despite "a history of violating almost any international agreement," expectations were low that Iran would blockade the waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. And while such a blockade could lead to a confrontation with U.S. forces and disrupt the global economy, analysts expressed skepticism that Iran's navy had the capacity to shut down the strait for an extended period.
Kudos to McClatchy for a sensible take on the situation.
Meanwhile, other agencies, notably ABCNews:
Tension between Iran and the United States in the Strait of Hormuz increased again Thursday as an Iranian military official told the official IRNA news agency its planes had shot photographs and video of a US aircraft carrier in the strategic narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf.
According to the Associated Press, Rear Adm. Mahmoud Mousavi was quoted saying the photos are evidence that Iran’s navy is “observing moves by foreign forces” not far from where Iranian ships are conducting military exercises. The Strait of Hormuz is a vital transit point for up to 20 percent of the world’s oil supply. Only a few dozen miles wide at its narrowest point, it lies between Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. Iran said this week it would choke off that supply if the United States and its allies imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil sector.
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain across from Iran and guards the passageway, confirmed to ABC News that two of its ships did pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Dec.27 en route to the Arabian Sea where they are assisting operations in Afghanistan.
The story goes on with manly war words like: aircraft carrier, guided-missile cruiser, air support, Operation Enduring Freedom, “The Pentagon said yesterday it would not allow Iran to follow through on its threats...”, “Closing the Strait of Hormuz will not be tolerated, raising the temperature on tensions is unhelpful,” “The State Department dismissed Iran’s threat as ‘rhetoric’.”, new sanctions which could target Iran’s Central Bank, effectively cut off Iran’s oil sector.
More importantly, all of this crap could lead to “a spike in oil prices” which would bring joy to all and sundry of the executives of the above-listed oil corporations.
And, the big question is: Will China lend us the money to throw away on this newest of childish games?
And, I'll bet the family farm, which no longer belongs to me, that good old British Petroleum, aka BP, is the major culprit behind all of this.
In the meantime, us women, the women of Iran, Shi'a women, Sunni women, American women, Israeli women, et al, could settle the whole matter in a couple of hours over coffee or tea. And, with an eye to the sustainable future, it would include a giant dose of renewable, non-polluting energy sources.