Wednesday, September 18, 2019

the wild card

 World events. We read about them, hear about them on the news, and get our " expert " opinion from social media. I guess that gives us a leg up on the past, you know, when our parents didn't have that benefit. Many of our parents still don't utilize the social media resources. Well, my Mom just turned ninety and still refuses to use an ATM card. She just seems to have some aversion to that. But I'm getting off track here. I was talking about world events.
 This morning, once again, I hear about the Saudi oil facilities being attacked, allegedly by Iran. Now does any of that sound familiar? It does to me. It's all about the oil. What does Iran hope to accomplish, if it is shown they are responsible? The objective is to keep producing nuclear weapons. You know that the United States and many other countries in the world want to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Of course you do have to keep in mind that the United States and a few others that already have these advanced weapons will not disassemble those. But we don't have to because we would only use them in a responsible fashion. Yes, we can be trusted with the hammer, Iran can not!
 This attack is nothing more than a tactic to forestall any Nuclear deal being negotiated. There are the hard liners in Iran that want no part of that. It also serves Irans' short term economic interests. Their oil is now worth more. Hey, the world will still buy their oil, this little dust up won't deter that. It's also a way to test Trump. Just what will he do? We all know he talks a lot about the might of the United States military. He does like to negotiate from a position of power. Well, that's always the best position to negotiate from and usually the reason folks don't like you so much. That's another topic of discussion however. The Saudis' were attacked and what will Trumps response be?  A big question that needs an answer.  Thing is, the United States has been selling all manner of military equipment to the Saudis. The justification for that has been that the Saudis will be able to defend themselves against aggression by whom? Iran and others in the middle east. The Saudis are old friends of ours. I remember docking in Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. That was almost thirty years ago. We have been " thankful " ever since.
 Yes, this is a world event. It is an event that could lead to armed conflict. A war? That depends upon how you wish to define war. Is the exchange of missiles, drone attacks or protecting your airspace a war? What about hijacking ships in your territorial waters? Like always the ones getting shot at, the ones being harmed or sent to serve in foreign places certainly think of it as war. But is it war? I would say yes. It is the newer version of war. It is just as destructive,  it is just that we can isolate that destruction! The larger concern is that it could get out of control. That's why we need to negotiate, ,the objective being that we keep the biggest hammer. The only question remaining,  will we use that hammer? We did so to end WW2. The use of that hammer is still questioned by moral ethicists. Where lives saved or lost? Does it make a difference if you kill en masse or just one at a time? Same theory about these mass shootings today isn't it? Eight or ten people murdered every day in the United States, one at a time, barely a word. Mass murder though, the media is out in full force, protests organized, blame the weapon and take it away from everyone! Well, except for the Government that is, they will only use those guns responsibly.
 So I sit here watching world events and knowing there is nothing I am going to do to stop any of this. All I can do is point out some facts, share some observations, and offer an opinion. What do we do about Iran? Do we attack with shock and awe? It certainly made the Iraquis' retreat. They went straight back home. If we do, guess what, the oil prices will go out of sight. That isn't gong to be a good thing. The Saudis say they have regained half their production back already and will be back to full operation in a month. It was reported that only 5% of the total world production was effected by the attack. Just 5%. Still, I don't know about where you are but here gas went up in price about 15 cents. What happens if say twenty per cent was effected? You have to remember it is all about oil, that's what the deal is. So what to do, what to do? Could any of this be part of a scheme to get rid of Trump? The Iranians would sure like to see him gone and I'm sure other nations would as well. You can't predict just what Trump will do. He's a wild card in this global game. I don't have any answers, all I can do is watch.     

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