A Saudi king has warned that ISIS could be knocking at our door in 2 months., yet haven't they along with the U.S. armed ISIS?   I agree, the problems in the Middle East can no longer be ignored.  Obama removing our troops when he did and his blatant inaction in this area has made us extremely vulnerable.

Just another thought here; we have decided not to become energy independent for what reason again?


Islamic State requires Saudi Arabia to rethink its support for extremism

The Saudi government may deny links to the group, but its promotion of hardline Islam is not something the west can ignore any longer

Islamic State (Isis), now being described in some quarters as "the most capable military power in the Middle East outside Israel", is at the top of the global agenda. Naturally, there is discussion of its origins and backers.

It is notable that, in particular, the Saudi government has scrambled to deny any links to the group. In the past two weeks, the usually low-profile Saudi ambassador in the UK sent a strongly worded letter to the Guardian. The embassy issued a press release to the same effect, and last week the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia himself made a statement condemning Isis. This follows a $100m contribution to a UN anti-terror programme....

...Saudi salafism is not the wellspring of hardline Islamic groups worldwide, but it is part of something that might be – a tendency for Arab and Muslim governments to pay lip service to Islam to bolster their religious credentials through politically expedient means. These leaders simultaneously instrumentalise religion while oppressing any form of religious opposition. The combination of serious cash and the religious weight that comes from being the birthplace of Islam renders Saudi Arabia the most dangerous member of this club.

The long-term solution to the constant reincarnation of radical Islamic political movements doesn't lie in grand public gestures like anti-terrorism funding, strong statements of condemnation, or "rehabilitation clinics" for radicals, but in dismantling state-sponsored religious indoctrination. As the Isis threats march on, the old calculations no longer work in Arab governments' favour.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/29/islamic-state-saudi-arabia-rethink-extremism

In fact, we are energy independent in LNG. What keeps us from exporting our surplus
is the difficulty of obtaining Export permits as well as the lack of receiving terminals
abroad, to store the gas, plus rail-heads near port facilities, to move the gas.
We will be self sufficient in crude by next year but refining capacity remains an issue.
Hydraulic fracturing has revolutionized the industry and created great wealth in the
Northern Plains.

Quote from: Walter Josh on August 31, 2014, 11:08:27 AM
In fact, we are energy independent in LNG. What keeps us from exporting our surplus
is the difficulty of obtaining Export permits as well as the lack of receiving terminals
abroad, to store the gas, plus rail-heads near port facilities, to move the gas.
We will be self sufficient in crude by next year but refining capacity remains an issue.
Hydraulic fracturing has revolutionized the industry and created great wealth in the
Northern Plains.

This is one of the primary reasons we need to elect a GOP president. There is definite need to expedite the approvals for new and additional refineries. At that point we won't need the Saudis for anything and we can treat them like they should be treated. They are hypocrites who only want US dollars.

Quote from: Walter Josh on August 31, 2014, 11:08:27 AM
In fact, we are energy independent in LNG. What keeps us from exporting our surplus
is the difficulty of obtaining Export permits as well as the lack of receiving terminals
abroad, to store the gas, plus rail-heads near port facilities, to move the gas.
We will be self sufficient in crude by next year but refining capacity remains an issue.
Hydraulic fracturing has revolutionized the industry and created great wealth in the
Northern Plains.

We don't have to be. In fact we can thank The Obama and his crew for that too.

There is enough oil, natural gas, and other various kinds of fossil fuels in the ground on the north American Continent to power the energy needs of the entire planet for five hundred years.

Say some estimates.

And yet the leftists, like The Obama have done nothing but use the power of government to regulate the use of our own natural resources out of existence.

Thus ensuring that not only are we reliant upon other nations to provide the energy to us instead. But also ensuring that even IF we decided to use our own resources, we would remain dependent upon other nations for quite some time to come as well.

Because to set up drilling/mining operations takes time over a year usually in fact. It's not something which just happens overnight, and we can all rest assured, that should we ever make the decision to use our own resources.

The leftist idiots in this nation will use that time it takes to set up operations, to file lawsuit after lawsuit in the courts trying to obtain injunctions and orders forbidding drilling/mining etc...and to sit on the nightly MSM telling Americans how bad it is to use our own natural resources. Basically they would use that time it takes to set up operations, to obstruct every way they can the use of our own resources.

We can see, right now today, a prime example of where the leftists have done exactly this.

It's called the "Keystone" pipeline.

Which the leftists have done their damndest to stop.

Despite the FACT the pipeline would have brought much needed crude oil to this nation. Dramatically lowering our gasoline prices at the pump, as well as our home energy costs such as heating bills in the winter time for example.

But not only would it benefit us, it would benefit the natural world as well. Just like this for example:

Has in Alaska.

But nope, that's not good enough for the liberals.

Now ask yourself, why would a political movement/group such as the Democrats, be so opposed to something which benefits our nation, our states, our own people, as well as the natural world and animal life.

I strongly suspect, given some of the other things the leftists have done in recent history (opposition to wiping Al-queda out for example) that it is because such a pipeline is a step toward American independence, and continued sovereignty.

Both of which have been shown time and time again are something which liberal leftists hate and despise.

Lets see hear. 19 Saudi Nationalist bring down the World Trade Center and kill over 3000 thousand people. Now the Saudi King brings a statement like this to the table. IMO...a Tomahawk Missle should be delieved if the King doesn't start answering some question.

Quote from: Bronx on August 31, 2014, 12:19:31 PM
Lets see hear. 19 Saudi Nationalist bring down the World Trade Center and kill over 3000 thousand people. Now the Saudi King brings a statement like this to the table. IMO...a Tomahawk Missle should be delieved if the King doesn't start answering some question.

Agreed.  What is disturbing is our president in his infinite wisdom, bowed before "them".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WlqW6UCeaY

Quote from: supsalemgr on August 31, 2014, 11:41:19 AM
This is one of the primary reasons we need to elect a GOP president. There is definite need to expedite the approvals for new and additional refineries. At that point we won't need the Saudis for anything and we can treat them like they should be treated. They are hypocrites who only want have always only wanted US dollars.

FIFY.

They were eating sand for breakfast and camel shit for supper before Western oil companies showed up and found the ocean of oil beneath their feet.

Quote from: daidalos on August 31, 2014, 12:16:06 PM
We don't have to be. In fact we can thank The Obama and his crew for that too.

There is enough oil, natural gas, and other various kinds of fossil fuels in the ground on the north American Continent to power the energy needs of the entire planet for five hundred years.

Say some estimates.

And yet the leftists, like The Obama have done nothing but use the power of government to regulate the use of our own natural resources out of existence.

Thus ensuring that not only are we reliant upon other nations to provide the energy to us instead. But also ensuring that even IF we decided to use our own resources, we would remain dependent upon other nations for quite some time to come as well.

Because to set up drilling/mining operations takes time over a year usually in fact. It's not something which just happens overnight, and we can all rest assured, that should we ever make the decision to use our own resources.

The leftist idiots in this nation will use that time it takes to set up operations, to file lawsuit after lawsuit in the courts trying to obtain injunctions and orders forbidding drilling/mining etc...and to sit on the nightly MSM telling Americans how bad it is to use our own natural resources. Basically they would use that time it takes to set up operations, to obstruct every way they can the use of our own resources.

We can see, right now today, a prime example of where the leftists have done exactly this.

It's called the "Keystone" pipeline.

Which the leftists have done their damndest to stop.

Despite the FACT the pipeline would have brought much needed crude oil to this nation. Dramatically lowering our gasoline prices at the pump, as well as our home energy costs such as heating bills in the winter time for example.

But not only would it benefit us, it would benefit the natural world as well. Just like this for example:

Has in Alaska.

But nope, that's not good enough for the liberals.

Now ask yourself, why would a political movement/group such as the Democrats, be so opposed to something which benefits our nation, our states, our own people, as well as the natural world and animal life.

I strongly suspect, given some of the other things the leftists have done in recent history (opposition to wiping Al-queda out for example) that it is because such a pipeline is a step toward American independence, and continued sovereignty.

Both of which have been shown time and time again are something which liberal leftists hate and despise.

diadalos, as usual is perceptive.
Re: Keystone, allow me to share this from a relative still active in the industry.
The major impetus behind this Pipeline is Canada, perhaps our only real ally, as they want to send their
tar sands crude to the Gulf Refineries in order to generate downstream products, which carry a higher RofR.
While they have been more than patient w/us;  they are now planning to construct their own pipeline to
Vancouver where the crude can be tank farmed till shipped to the energy deficient Pacific Rim, particularly
China, which has high demand but low supply; and Canada will get a premium price!
This is a natural for GOP business types. Anyone hear them pounding this issue in the media? Me neither.

Quote from: suzziY on August 31, 2014, 12:53:12 PM
Agreed.  What is disturbing is our president in his infinite wisdom, bowed before "them".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WlqW6UCeaY

Our president hard at work solving a real problem.   

Quote from: suzziY on August 31, 2014, 10:10:36 AM
Just another thought here; we have decided not to become energy independent for what reason again?

I'm all for drilling our own sources, I'm for stop making the Alaskan Petroleum Reserve an ironic name for what's treated as a preserve by the Department of the Interior, and kicking them right out of states like Alaska and Nevada that have had to let more than 50% of their land be controlled by it, and in doing so, leaving State Governments at the mercy of National one of what they can do within their own territory.

That said, "Energy Independence", isn't a really a thing. Economics by nature means energy is a global, interdependent market.

The biggest share hold of the Alaskan pipeline is BP, a British company. Exxon Mobile owns oil fields in South America, Malaysia, Iraq and elsewhere. The Oil market on our East Coast, have more in common and shares more volume with oil markets in Europe, than the one on our West Coast. The Keystone Pipeline, is owned by a Canadian company.

"Energy Independence" sounds as right to the ears of economists as "toy car independence" or "wood independence".

There are going to be days, simply through the arbitrage of prices, or because one of the companies that operate here owns stock in a foreign field, where we import oil. It won't stop, nor should we want it to.

Develop our sources, invigorate technology so that we undercut the State own competitors around the world? Yes, all for that, but, and this is why I don't consider this nitpicking, this slogan makes me nervous that it's protectionism by another name. Politics seldom leaves room for nuance.

QuoteIslamic State (Isis), now being described in some quarters as "the most capable military power in the Middle East outside Israel",

? They don't even have an Air Force. They're having to capture pilots, and force them at gunpoint to train their people, just to make use of the airframes they recently captured in Syria. What's more, most of those captive pilots are civilians, not fighter jocks.

They number less than the Kurds, and their ground equipment elsewhere is a motley collection of captured material they largely don't know how to maintain.

I think both the Turks, and the Iranians could kick their asses if they made full commitments, the Saudis too if they were interested in fighting them.

Why wouldn't ISIS just go after the Saudi's before the USA and Europe and get all that oil?

I think this guy just wants us to fight his wars for him.

Quote from: chubasco on September 01, 2014, 02:49:59 PM
Why wouldn't ISIS just go after the Saudi's before the USA and Europe and get all that oil?

I think this guy just wants us to fight his wars for him.

They tried that shit with Egypt, and look what happened to them.