(DV) Hamod: Why Opec is Cutting Its Production

Why OPEC Is Cutting Its Production
by Sam Hamod
www.dissidentvoice.org
April 1, 2004

Many have asked why OPEC is cutting its production when the price is already over OPEC’s projected market design price. This has caused consternation in the Bush administration, upset Kerry and allegedly puzzled many American financial analysts who think the price is already too high for America’s and the world’s economies.

The answer is simple: the OPEC countries are tired of Bush and his administration trying to tell them how to run their countries—from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait to Venezuela—they are all tired of Bush trying to be the dictator and government framer of the world.

If you will notice, in the past six months, American politicians have instituted a campaign to tell Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Indonesia and Venezuela how to “reform” their governments, and in the case of Venezuela, America has been supporting the anti-government, anti-democratic group that wants to kick out the democratically elected president, Chavez. Obviously, Chavez will not do anything to aid America, whom he sees as the enemy of his regime and his life. These Arab and Muslims countries do not like this pressure, especially Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, who have had royal families running these countries for decades; even Russia, who Bush thought would send extra oil to help the American economy, has been slow in helping, if they help at all, since Secretary of State Powell’s comments on Putin’s election, and alleged “irregularities” in the Russian election. You may recall that Putin’s response was, “Don’t tell me about elections and democracy; remember Florida before you speak.”

So there you have it in a nutshell. In addition to this, America had its hand in the postponement of the recent Arab League Summit that was to be held in Tunisia.

Knowledgeable experts, and there are very few in America, or at least that the media will allow on the major TV channels, know that America was pressuring some of its lackeys in the Arab world to pressure others, and to make a major agenda item, the “democratization” of the Arab world. The U.S. always holds up Israel as a model, rather than admitting democracies in Lebanon and Tunisia; the Arab nations, and the Muslim nations are tired of Israel, which is thought by them to be a terrorist nation, with Arabs and some Sephardic Jews being treated as second class, or worse, citizens.

There is also the Palestinian/Israeli problem that has caused nothing but upset in the Arab and Muslim worlds; all of these nations are sympathetic to the Palestinians and know that the Israelis have violated most UN laws and humanitarian codes in the Geneva Conventions and in the UN Conventions, yet these countries see America constantly aiding Israel, and vetoing any and all resolutions in the UN Security Council when Israel is up for justified condemnations, i.e., the illegal wall, the illegal destruction of homes of non-combatants, the jailing of people without warrants or any rights, the assassination of leaders from within Palestine, capped off recently by the killing of Sheikh Yassin and the threat to kill Al Rantisi, and the use of weapons from the U.S. that are illegal to be used in civil areas, such as cluster bombs, rockets, helicopter missiles, etc.

There are also the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most Muslims, aside from the lackeys, are very upset about American occupation of these lands; the Arab nations, all of whom have majority Muslim populations, share in this upset and must answer to their citizens everyday when America kills more people or occupies more land. There is also upset when the journalists from Qatar with Al Jazeerah and from Saudi Arabia with Al Arabiyah are killed by American soldiers, in what are clearly “assassinations”; yet the American military constantly says the killings were justified “under the rules of war”—but it is interesting, only Arab and foreign journalists get killed in cars that are clearly marked “JOURNALISTS”, but no American journalists are ever killed…….??

No one can be blind to what this is all about. The Arab and Muslims governments must answer to their people about these events as well as the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan—something that none of them can justify. Of course, they would agree that Saddam being gone is good, but the take-over and occupation in force is violently opposed, not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in other Arab and Muslims countries as well. That is why you have “volunteers” coming into Iraq and Afghanistan to fight the U.S. and the occupiers, from as far away as China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhistan, Turkey and on and on—not to mention Arab nations in North Africa, Muslims from central Africa and European countries.

Yes, to any rational, non-neo-con observer, it is clear as to why the OPEC nations are putting the screws to a failing U.S. economy run by a dictatorial empire driven man like Bush.

Perhaps the next time you hear a TV program or radio program that wonders why, or if you hear your congressperson wondering why—just tell them what I’ve passed on to you.

It just might help America wake up before it’s too late.

Sam Hamod is an expert on world affairs, especially the Middle East and Islam; he is the editor of www.todaysalternativenews.com and former editor of 3^rd World News (Wash, DC); he may be reached at shamod@cox.net.