I want tw's thoughts on...

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

The energy appetite is causing the tradeoff of risk. If there were cheap oil available, they wouldn't do that.

Yes, cheap oil is one possible solution. I hope there are others because "cheap oil" is rapidly approaching a status somewhere between "hen's teeth" and "rocking-horse shit".
And I love it when a thread drifts back. So, with the Kurdish region being one of Iraq's most productive oil regions, and that oil being mostly sent through a pipeline through Turkey ... cheap oil? GOOD LUCK!

IMHO ... Kurdistan is a natural nation, a geographically continuous area filled (mostly) with one group of people unified by language, culture and religion, who believe themselves to be such a group. But it has been carved up amongst Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. Tensions will continue to simmer here until these four nations cede their claims to the territory and stop keeping the Kurds when the Kurds don't want to be kept.
Ah, but what would that do to Iraq? Yeah, problem...

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Yes, cheap oil is one possible solution. I hope there are others because "cheap oil" is rapidly approaching a status somewhere between "hen's teeth" and "rocking-horse shit".

That's what I was saying. LNG, is much more trouble, so it makes sense to go for the oil first. We can absorb Canada and Australia, even Angola, later.

Tensions will continue to simmer here until these four nations cede their claims to the territory and stop keeping the Kurds when the Kurds don't want to be kept.

Or the Kurds are eliminated.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

That's what I was saying. LNG, is much more trouble, so it makes sense to go for the oil first. We can absorb Canada and Australia, even Angola, later.

Or the Kurds are eliminated.

Mmmmmmyeahhhhh, genocide, I suppose that would work too.
But now that we have hanged Saddam, who's gonna do the slaughtering?

Bruce please tell me that your tongue was firmly in your cheek for all of your post. Drop in a or something, please.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Minds of men fashioned a crate of thunder,
Sent it high into the blue;
Hands of men blasted the world asunder;
How they lived God only knew!
Souls of men dreaming of skies to conquer
Gave us wings, ever to soar!
With scouts before And bombers galore. Hey!
Nothing can stop the Army Air Corps!

[ZenGum]

Bruce, you're scaring me.

Although one thing could stop the US air corps... if they run out of cheap oil ... and their planes can't fly! Ha! :p Who's laughing now?

But saturation bombing the area, last resort, you know, it'd mess up all the oil infrastructure.

How about a neutron bomb? kill all living things and do minimal damage to hardware...

Seriously, though, how about weaning ourselves off fossil fuels?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Yeah, the weaning will happen. But the strongest and richest, will be the last to wean, unfortunately.