maybe we should invade saudi arabia.

[jarrod]

i was reading about OPEC meeting to determine how much to cut production in order to drive the price of oil back up, & it got me thinking.

most wars can be divided into 3 broad categories: ideological (most civil wars & revolutions), or killing people & taking their stuff, or defending yourself from people trying to kill you & take your stuff. now i'm not totally idealistic, i know that we will always have all three types of wars. but what i really don't like is going into the second type of war & being told that it is the first or second third type of war. so if we are going to kill people & take their stuff, let's just say so & maybe we should take saudi arabia's stuff.

we wouldn't even have to talk about their oppressive theocratic government, their human rights record, or their open hostility towards us. just offer the armed forces oil commodities or stock options in place of combat pay. there you go; oil prices stabilize & our veterans are financially secure. just some thoughts.

jf

 

[Archangel M]

Considering our American companies found, drilled and pumped their oil before we gave it all away to them with no strings attached....


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramco

Saudi Aramco's history dates back to May 29, 1933, when the Government of Saudi Arabia signed a concessionary agreement with Standard Oil of California abbreviated as (Socal) allowing them to explore Saudi Arabia for oil. Standard Oil of California passed this concession to a wholly-owned subsidiary called California-Arabian Standard Oil Co. (Casoc). In 1936 with the company having no success at locating oil, the Texas Oil Company purchased a 50% stake of the concession..

After a long search for oil that lasted around four years without success, the first success came with the seventh drill site in Dammam, an area located a few miles north of Dhahran in 1938, a well referred to as Dammam number 7. The discovery of this well, which immediately produced over 1,500 barrels per day (240 m³/d), gave the company the confidence to continue and flourish. The company name was changed in 1944 from California-Arabian Standard Oil Company to Arabian American Oil Company (or Aramco). In 1948 Standard Oil of California and the Texas Oil Company were joined as investors by Standard Oil of New Jersey who purchased 30% of the company, and Socony Vacuum who purchased 10% of the company, leaving Standard Oil of California and the Texas Oil Company with equal 30% shares.

In 1950, King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud threatened to nationalize his country's oil facilities, thus pressuring Aramco to agree to share its profits on oil sales 50/50. A similar process had taken place with American oil companies in Venezuela a few years earlier. The American government granted US Aramco member companies a tax break known as the Golden gimmick equivalent to the profits lost in sharing oil profits with Ibn Saud.

In 1973 the Saudi Arabian government acquired a 25% share of Aramco, increased this to 60% by 1974 and finally acquired full control of Aramco by 1980. In November 1988 the company changed its name from Arabian American Oil Company to Saudi Arabian Oil Company (or Saudi Aramco).

The kicker is that OPEC cutting back doesnt really effect our flow of oil as we dont get much from them...but they set the prices.

 

[Marginal]

Invading Saudi Arabia would be a bigger mess than Iraq. Invading any area regarded as holy by the surrounding peoples is going to draw a disproportionate response from the neighbors.

 

[Big Don]

Invading Saudi Arabia would be a bigger mess than Iraq. Invading any area regarded as holy by the surrounding peoples is going to draw a disproportionate response from the neighbors.

With one exception...

 

[MA-Caver]

With one exception...

Right, we get a really cool indoor ski resort.






After all... we paid for the goddamned thing.

 

[Marginal]

With one exception...

True. They'd be kinda busy since our assets would be tied up in holding Saudi Arabia at that point.

 

[celtic_crippler]

Venezuela is closer.

 

[terryl965]

Why not take Mexico and Canada as well since we are at it.

 

[Big Don]

Why not take Mexico and Canada as well since we are at it.

Mexico owes us so much money, we ought to foreclose and annex the whole place.
Almost instantly every (former) Mexican would have a higher standard of living

Mexico has a plethora of natural resources, GOLD, OIL, Etc that are not being utilized to their full potential, finding and exploiting them would mean millions of jobs

 

[Bob Hubbard]

We can't invade Saudi Arabia...they already own us.

 

[Twin Fist]

I would be ok with annexing mexico

 

[Marginal]

Mexico owes us so much money, we ought to foreclose and annex the whole place.
Almost instantly every (former) Mexican would have a higher standard of living

Mexico has a plethora of natural resources, GOLD, OIL, Etc that are not being utilized to their full potential, finding and exploiting them would mean millions of jobs

Moving all those car factories etc out of Mexico would be fairly costly tho.

 

[MA-Caver]

Moving all those car factories etc out of Mexico would be fairly costly tho.

Nah, the big 4 auto companies would just take over and start producing more gas guzzling vehicles.

Basically after watching a program on the History Channel about various green energy saving things we have at our disposal and at our fingertips... we should just forget the rest of the world for the time being... start utilizing all those capabilities that would reduce our dependence on oil... period, then turn our attention to encouraging the rest of the world to do the same.

Wind power, sea power, solar power and so much more and being able to be built for fractions of what it cost for any petroleum based energy.
What was amazing is on the wind power... say they build 400 windmill towers, the energy provide would double the amount produced by the Hoover Dam. Blows your mind.

Invade? Conquer? Take-over? What are we? Romans, Commies and Nazis??

 

[grydth]

Mexico would be easy to conquer.... with so much of their military age people already up here. Why don't we just mount a counter illegal immigration surge and overwhelm them? We could use surplus Republicans after 4 November.

Invade Saudi Arabia? The Saudis are our friends... who provided 3/4 of the 9/11 murderers.... and Osama, too.... run the Wahhabi hate schools...big player in OPEC...and have financed.... but, just, well, they are our friends so we just can't. Bush I and II have said so.

Looking at the resurgent drug trade and Taliban in Afganistan, and Iranians murdering and maiming thousands of our troops for fun and profit in Iraq - - - well, we should perhaps get out of the invading racket. At some point after D-Day we just lost our touch - - - or spine.

From now on, let's just challenge the world's ghouls to come over and play the Giants.

 

[jarrod]

I would be ok with annexing mexico

i think mexico would be okay with our annexing mexico.

Invade? Conquer? Take-over? What are we? Romans, Commies and Nazis??

just embrace it.

jf

 

[Bob Hubbard]

The Mexican Drug Lords might object.

So might the Americans who moved there to get away from vaious things in the US.

 

[grydth]

The Mexican Drug Lords might object.

So might the Americans who moved there to get away from vaious things in the US.

Yeah, like outstanding warrants! :hammer:

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Well, there are those folks, but I was thinking the folks who bought $200,000 homes there.

 

[sjansen]

Invading Saudi Arabia would be a bigger mess than Iraq. Invading any area regarded as holy by the surrounding peoples is going to draw a disproportionate response from the neighbors.

The two holiest cities of Islam Mecca and Medina are located in Saudi Arabia. Also, They are our allie. They let us set up in Suadi Arabia for the Gulf war.

 

[Tez3]

I would be ok with annexing mexico

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053084/plotsummary