Free Republic

Will Egypt seize Libya for its oil? Given Egypt’s political ideology, its history with its neighbors, and its material needs, this must be a live issue. … The Muslim Brotherhood government desperately needs a $4.8-billion IMF bailout to stop the bleeding but it refuses to curtail its subsidies, as the IMF demands, for fear of triggering a popular revolt. It is instead hoping for aid from oil states and the U.S. government, but even if this materializes, it will be at best a stopgap. With tourists, the country’s chief source of foreign exchange, steering clear of Egypt because of its...

Stevens Holds Senate in Session Fight for Oil Drilling Keeps Colleagues From Holiday Break By Shailagh Murray Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, December 20, 2005; A13 It's an audacious power play, even for Sen. Ted Stevens. The wily and cantankerous Alaska Republican is trying to secure the mother of all pet projects for his state: oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Stevens has attached the provision to a popular defense spending bill and has put holiday plans of his Senate colleagues on hold as he dares Democratic and moderate Republican opponents to vote against it. The former Appropriations...

Even in the face of spreading reform in the Middle East, Americans remain divided over the wisdom of removing Saddam Hussein and then staying on to foster democracy in Iraq. But petroleum should not be part of that controversy. Nevertheless, the most persistent smear of this war has been this idea of "blood for oil" — whether the so-called Afghanistan pipeline or Halliburton "grab" for concessions and profits. True, our foreign policies, like those of all industrial powers, are in part guided by strategic considerations. Cheap gas, however, is not the supreme driving force behind American intervention. The lack of...

Environmentalists often use the phrase "Think Globally, Act Locally" as their strategy for addressing environmental issues around the world. Unfortunately, a couple of other phrases come to mind: "Out of sight, out of mind", "Not in my back yard" and "Think Anti-capitalism and Act Anti-capitalism". If one has ever analyzed the oil extraction, refining and shipping operations in the Middle East, Russia, or Eastern Europe, they realize that there are few, if any, environmental standards that these countries are being held to. Yet, in the United States, Alaska specifically, our "global-thinking" environmentalists would prohibit operations that would be much more...