Trade Energy Now?
This week, we learned that the Israelis did in fact bomb a Syrian nuclear reactor last year and the United States in now claiming that the North Koreans were assisting the Syrians in their efforts. Today, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff accused the Iranians of increasing their efforts to train and arm insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Folks, the saber rattling is getting louder and its no wonder that crude is back to all-time highs. I’m not sure what the agenda is, but it does appear that the Bush administration is trying to 1) force a confrontation or 2) get everyone to the negotiating table. This feels like high-stakes poker to me.
The crude oil market has shown how sensitive it is to every little supply disruption. There simply isn't enough product to go around and demand has shown no sign of abating.
So how do you play the energy markets? I’m not sure you do. Sometimes it's better to be on the sidelines. Right now may be one of those times.
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He's a former oil man.
Cheney is a former oil man.
His dad was an oil man.
Many of his largest donors (the Bush Rangers) work in the energy industry.
Before Enron fell apart his top donor, all time (governor + President 2000) was Ken Lay.
Iraq is not a failure to plan or prepare. Iraq is exactly where he wants it to be. Higher oil prices are the goal, not a side effect. Considering who funds the terrorists it's treason, but so long as he cuts taxes on the investing classes he can get away with it.
One man's $0.02.
http://www.investorsinsight.com/blogs/
john_mauldins_outside_the_box/archive/
2008/04/10/
a-mystery-in-the-middle-east.aspx
Me thinks you may be giving the man more credit than due, just as many assign him too much blame (not that he is in anyway blameless).
How about Iraq was a festering sore on the world for generations - ask Ike, Tricky (D)ick, Jimmy Peanut & Bush I - and bad decisions about what to do were made and now there is no viable alternative.
Just another mans $0.02
You forgot Bubba Clinton in your list, who actually tried to take Saddam down in a coup, I believe it was 1998. The reason no one talks about this is that it embarrasses the Democrats, since (a) it didn't work and (b) points out that BC thought Saddam was a threat; and it troubles the Republicans, since (a) it shows that BC wasn't completely spineless and (b) it demonstrates that our choices in Iraq were not limited to "let it fester" or "do exactly what the immaculate President Dubya did". Saying that the United States, which in 2003 was unrivaled as both a diplomatic and as a military power, had only two options to deal with Iraq is a form of lying called a "false dilemma". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma
Which is a shame, because it is important for the American people to know that when the coup failed, we lost almost all of our HUMINT in Iraq. Clinton didn't work hard enough to restore it, IMNHO, and then Bush II went to war close to blind, which must have had Sun Tzu spinning in his grave. Many problems could have been avoided by waiting a year before commencing the military buildup and, during that time, developing better intelligence. Why this was not done is unknown but three choices are arrogance, tying the timing of the invasion to the US election schedule, and wanting to strike while the 9-11 emotions were still running high. Others may occur to you but none of them will speak well for Dubya.
