Posted on 05/30/2004 8:46:58 AM PDT by SmithPatterson
Collins Links Khobar Attack with Saudi Decision to Increase Oil Production
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 29) - During a television interview on Saturday, Georgia Republican Congressman Mac Collins, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, linked Saturday's attack in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, to the Saudi government's recent decision to increase oil production and supply more oil to America.
Some news reports said the al Qaeda terrorist group has taken responsibility for the attack. The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia Saturday urged American citizens to leave Saudi Arabia in the wake of those attacks.
Collins view is that the Saudi decision to increase (oil) production and American dependency on foreign oil were factors in the Khobar attacks."This is a message to try and disrupt that production and cripple the economy here in the United States because this is an election year for us" Collins said during an interview on "Fox and Friends" on the Fox News Channel.
In the wake of the Saudi government oil production decision and the high gas prices that are gripping America, the Senate should hurry up and pass President Bush's proposed energy program, according to Collins.
"It is a supply and demand situation. China is taking up much of the world's oil supply. We need to pass the President's energy program. We need to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). We need to look at alternative fuels. We need to continue research on clean, burning coal for power generation and we need to look at nuclear power," said Collins.
"If the Senate would just pass the President's energy package, it would make America less dependent on foreign oil and less dependent on people who do things like this attack in order to try to disrupt the economy."
Collins has traveled to Alaska and remains convinced that oil drilling can be performed without harming the pristine environment there.
Despite the attacks and the terrorist alert for this Memorial Day weekend, Collins called on Americans to go about their lives and stay vigilant and report any unusual activity.
"Terrorists thought they would bring us to our knees. They are not going to do that. We are not going to give up our freedom as terrorists would like us to do," Collins concluded.
Terrorists can't win: either the Saudis will get serious about the WOT or the Americans will get serious about alternative fuels.
I suspect the order will be reversed. If we have an alternative to them, they'll get serious with the terrorists to keep us dependent on their oil.
We are not going to get alternative fuels in a short amount of time. It will take years and in the meantime we need to keep fuel supplies coming. Thanks to the Rats there is an energy bill languishing in the congress because of partisonship. The Rats are the ones holding up everything just to buy votes and hopefully regain their power. Sometimes I cannot see that they have lost any power, thanks to the weinies we have in the Republican Party.
"Terrorists thought they would bring us to our knees. They are not going to do that. We are not going to give up our freedom as terrorists would like us to do," Collins concluded."
The Libs were already on their knees and I don't give a hoot what happens, they will stay on their knees!
There are a lot of capital costs, and it takes time to build plants. Fortunately, the technology on a couple of alternative ways of getting petroleum--shale oil, synthetic fuel from coal--is worked out, unlike the "newer" alternatives such as solar (still expensive, and not portable), hydrogen, and wind (getting there, though). A big problem aside from capital costs and time is the blocks environmentalists can put in the way by abusing the legal system. It will take a combination of a depression brought on by $75 to $100 per bbl oil (to get the popular support necessary) and a real leader in the Presidency to get over that.
Sometimes I cannot see that they have lost any power, thanks to the weinies we have in the Republican Party.
Absolutely. It is easier to play dirty when the weight of mass propaganda is on your side.
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