Blame Rising Oil Prices on Bush

June 11, 2008 in USA

EDWARD J. MARKEY
Why Is Bush Helping Saudi Arabia Build Nukes? online.wsj.com — What country is three times the size of Texas and has more than 300 days of blazing sun a year? What country has the world’s largest oil reserves resting below miles upon miles of sand? And what country is being given nuclear power, not solar, by President George W. Bush, even when the mere assumption of nuclear possession in its region has been known to provoke pre-emptive air strikes, even wars? If you answered Saudi Arabia to all of these questions, you’re right.

KEVIN G. HALL
Three Steps to Lower Oil Prices mcclatchydc.com — As gasoline prices soar to new records, America’s president — and the two men who hope to succeed him — are offering only partial or long-term solutions and ignoring three steps that many experts say could bring some relief now.

ROBERT SCHEER
Blame Rising Oil Prices on Bush huffingtonpost.com — Yep, he did it; Bush’s deliberate roiling of world politics is the key variable in the run-up of oil prices. No president has been more brilliant in destabilizing the politics of oil-producing countries from Venezuela to Russia and on to the key oil lakes of Iraq and Iran. This last will go down in our nation’s history as one of the dumbest escapades ever, rivaling even the madness of the Vietnam War.

DANIEL GROSS
Bushed newsweek.com — Bush’s inability to address the nation and the markets’ economic anxieties should inspire as much pity as scorn. The ideas he offered are pretty much the same as those he’s offered the last two years. With seven months left in a highly unpopular presidency, with Congress firmly in Democratic control, it’s not clear President Bush actually can do much to relieve economic distress.

Iraqis Condemn American Demands washingtonpost.com — Top Iraqi officials are calling for a radical reduction of the U.S. military’s role in their country after the U.N. mandate authorizing its presence expires at the end of this year. Government officials have said that the United States should agree to confine American troops to military bases unless the Iraqis ask for their assistance, with some saying Iraq might be better off without them. “The Americans are making demands that would lead to the colonization of Iraq,” said Sami al-Askari, a senior Shiite politician on parliament’s foreign relations committee who is close to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. “If we can’t reach a fair agreement, many people think we should say, ‘Goodbye, U.S. troops. We don’t need you here anymore.’ ”

Bush Regrets War Rhetoric guardian.co.uk — President Bush has expressed regret that his rhetoric in the run-up to the war in Iraq may have created the impression that he was a warmonger. “I think that in retrospect I could have used a different tone, a different rhetoric,” Bush said. The phrases he used to win support for the war such as “bring ‘em on” and “dead or alive” he said, “indicated to people that I was, you know, not a man of peace.”

Bush Warns Iran of ‘All Options’ news.bbc.co.uk — President Bush says he wants to pursue diplomacy to deal with Iran’s controversial nuclear program, but “all options are on the table.” Mr. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said further sanctions against Iran were possible.

BILL SCHER
Conservatives Addicted to Big Oil After passing last month a penny-ante compromise bill on energy, Senate leaders finally launched a real confrontation over the direction of our energy policy.