US energy future being dictated by OPEC, says former intel director

[Donnachaidh]

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/165347-former-intelligence-director-opec-holding-us-energy-future-hostage

The country’s energy future is being dictated by the world’s major oil producing nations with no input from American policymakers, a former U.S. intelligence director said Wednesday.

“America’s future is being determined with no Americans in the room,” said retired Adm. Dennis Blair, who served as Obama’s director of national intelligence before resigning last year.

Blair called on policymakers to begin weaning the United States off foreign oil so that the country would not be held hostage by the decisions of major oil producers, which have significant influence over the price of oil on world markets.

Blair’s comments came on the same day that OPEC — the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries — failed to reach an agreement on a proposal to increase oil production as part of an effort to address high prices.

More at the link --

[KansDem]

1. Didn't we all suspect this anyway?

But it's good to have a former intelligence director confirm it...

[ixion]

2. Well, not really. That's passing the buck.

We chose to build our infrastructure around the concept of cheap oil, and we can choose to re-tool that infrastructure to reduce and eliminate our dependence on burning fossil fuel for energy.

And my by reckoning, all this crap started happening after Cheney's secret "Energy Task Force" met, so my bet is that there are indeed some Americans at the table.

[Andy823]

5. I tend to agree...

From the day Bush and Cheney took office prices have been going up, breaking records year after year. While I am sure OPEC loves the high prices, I am also sure that speculators in the U.S. have play a huge part in the higher prices we are seeing, along with big oil keeping supplies of gasoline and diesel in short supply in order to control the laws of "supply and demand"!

[Angry Dragon]

3. It seems we need to attack more countries that have oil so we can control it

first up Saudi Arabia

[Eddie Haskell]

4. How'd that work in Iraq?

Ah ... they voted to keep production as is. So much for control.

[azul]

6. How that worked in Iraq, mainly,

is that Saudi Arabia got the US troops off its holy soil (Bin Laden's recruitment rallying point) and the USA got to build major permanent military bases in Iraq to protect its oil and dictators and monarchs throughout the region.

[izquierdista]

7. Let me see if I can decipher this....

On my Flash Gordon decoder ring, O=K.....P=o......E=c.....C=h got it! It says "US energy future being dictated by Koch".