Monday - January 23, 2012

Let The Cheating Begin

Is it just old cynical me, or was your very first thought “here comes another Oil for Food scandal”?

BRUSSELS – The European Union formally adopted an oil embargo Monday against Iran and a freeze of the assets of the country’s central bank, part of sanctions meant to pressure the country to resume talks on its nuclear program.

Diplomats said the measures, which were adopted in Brussels by the EU’s 27 foreign ministers, include an immediate embargo on new contracts for crude oil and petroleum products, while existing contracts will be allowed to run until July.

EU diplomats are calling the measure part of a twin track approach toward Iran: increase sanctions to discourage what they suspect is Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons but emphasize at the same time the international community’s willingness to talk. Iran says its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the embargo part of “an unprecedented set of sanctions.”

“I think this shows the resolve of the European Union on this issue,” Hague said.

Rrrriiiight. Sure, I believe it. Embargo. Uh huh. Big noise now, but it won’t even start until July. So this is just a lot of noise right now.

Except they cut a deal where poor little Greece, who lives for cheap Iranian oil, can do an end run, right? No? Wanna bet? Wanna watch Greece suddenly become a next exporter of oil when the embargo starts?

To protect Europe’s economy, struggling with a two-year-old debt crisis, foreign ministers agreed to delay full implementation of the oil embargo until July 1, an EU diplomat said.

That will give countries such as Greece, which rely heavily on Iranian oil, to find alternative sources.

Alternative sources, like old Hugo down in Venezuela, who isn’t part of the embargo and will probably act as front man for the mullahs? Or China, who, despite assurances from the Saudis that they would match production, isn’t part of the embargo?

Oh, and of course the price of oil just jumped $12 a barrel, to $111, on top of the 30¢ price jack you’ve seen at the pump over the past couple of weeks. Here we go again, $4-5 gas coming soon.

Thank God Obama killed the pipeline. As politics shuts down one international source after another (Nigeria will tip soon), it’s so reassuring to know that our Fearless Reader has done whatever he can to stop our supply from any and all other sources. Not.

The only way to make an embargo real is to do it at the point of a gun. Genuine old school naval blockade at sea, and armies along the borders. And let them do what they do best. Anything less is just an exercise in bullshit.

Posted by Drew458     on 01/23/2012 at 09:28 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics • EUro-peons • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices • War On Terror •  
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