I happened to read Jan Lundberg’s (yes, that Lundebrg of the excellent oil price report) article “Peak Oil in a Nutshell” last night.Link:
In that article,Lundberg states flatly that everything we are going through is a manifestation of the decline of the oil based civilization that has sustained us and propelled the US into the preeminent position it holds.That is clearly true as evidence mounts that despite the enormous profitability of the oil business,huge corporations like Exxon or Mobil are making few investments in exploration or refining.The scramble now is to secure whatever confirmed sources that do exist and more importantly, to deny those sources to any potential challengers like China in the near future, a scenario that is contained in the PNAC document.
While Cheney and his so called Energy Task Force laid out the plans for the forcible grab of oil resources worldwide, Bush and his Rovian task force was busy setting the stage for the demonization of the Arabs/Muslims who, unfortunately, happened to be sitting on top of the biggest oil deposits in the known world.Given our history of killing anyone who stands in the way of our greed ( Native Americans, Latin Americans, Phillippines),it was natural for the U.S. to start the demonization process of the Arabs.In that noble task, two biggest groups, the religious fundamentalists and the Israeli supporters were recruited by the Bush gang.The convergence of the Bush Road Warriors and these two groups has led to the total abrogation of our Constitution,contemptuous dismissal of anyone who even questions the Maximum Leader and threats against any country that stands up to the hegemonic edicts from Washington.
Lundeberg’s prediction is that our crisis will get worse and no amount of price rises in petroleum will result in increased production except in the short term.He says that the end is near for our superpower status and whatever we do is an end stage game much as what was depicted in the excellent movie The Road Warriors starring (surprise!) Mel Gibson.The desperation, the cold blooded murders and savagery depicted in that movie for the dwindling stock of gasoline,may well come to pass soon.Iraq is just a harbinger of the Shape of Things To Come, a phrase coined by no less an authority than H.G. Wells himself.
Willingly or otherwise, Bush is presiding over the decline of the American Empire and no one is better suited temperamentally for that role.His callousness,utter disdain for any democratic processes and repetitious use of inanities make him the perfect candidate for the end times.