Today, President Obama made a statement that indicated that his administration had begun talking about a possible intervention into the Libyan crisis. This was in reaction to Col. Gadhafi's forces who launched an airstrike on the outskirts of the oil town of Ras Lanuf.
I made a statement earlier that the issue of oil would become a big concern for the global economy and specifically, the United States. Does anyone else find it interesting that once the rebels started attacking oil areas, the US all of a sudden begin talks about intervening? There is a definite correlation and I almost wish the US would be outright and say, "These rebels are attacking oil fields, oil is a strong interest for the US economy, we want to protect these oil fields."
Here is an article about the airstrike.
I agree. I think that Libya's oil is a major issue right now especially because this industry is still functioning despite the protests. I saw a video today on al-Jazeera that discussed the oil in Libya. One person that they interviewed mentioned that many countries are withdrawing their staff from Libya because of the violence. It is clear that oil is a huge part of the Gaddafi regime's income so it will be interesting to see what happens. The video also discussed the fact that oil exports have been in decline since the protests began. Although I am not sure Obama is totally focused on intervening for the sake of oil, it is clear that since oil the main export in Libya, many countries are concerned over how the violence will affect the oil industry in general.
ReplyDeleteI think that Obama would say to the American public that he is not concerned with oil, but is more concerned with preserving peace in the Middle East. It seems that this would be considered good press and nothing more. As the ever decreasing supply of oil is depleted in the Middle East, the US is VERY interested in making sure that Libya will have available oil fields.
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