Saturday, January 29, 2005

Why Should I Care? I'm On Holiday

The fate of the world rests on the efforts of the Iraqi people tomorrow, as Democracy is attempted. It is entirely possible that they will not vote for the fear of violence, or that the violence will mar the day, or even a relatively docile population will act in submission to the Sole superpower's directions, and accept the western notion of democracy as their own.

The disruption of the election tommorow cannot strictly be considered Terrorism, though the violence will undoubtedly cause terror. For many of the Iraqis perpetrating the violence, the acts of their occupiers are considered far worse threats to peace. The problem cannot be understood easily by such a mixed society as the United States, or Australia, only in vague terms of Ghettos, or regional differences. The People of Iraq do not exist. The Peoples of Iraq, the Sunni, the Shiite, and the Kurds, were forced together into a convenient geographical zone, convenient for British Petroleum (Not quite the same body as BP today), to ensure oil supply for the former foremost superpower.

This Diatribe might sound random, but there's several key points lurking in the mist-

• Iraq is a Combination of Three Cultures
• The British created the nation after WW1 for the cause of Energy Security
• The US cannot easily grasp the bitter divisions in Iraqi Society
• The US does not want to divide Iraq into cultural zones in the interest of Energy Security.
• The People of Iraq are not motivated to provide energy security to the US.

But back to the main point- Why Should I Care?

Tomorrow I'll be driving two hours up the coast, and the only worry I have is that the cold snap in the US, and possible supply disruptions tomorrow as a result of violence over the elections in Iraq, will shoot the price of oil up to US$70, a prediction I backed two months ago. Admittedly, that's a long way to go from the US$47.15 it was two hours ago, but with an OPEC meeting , Iraqi Elections, and this global phenomenon called weather, the only vaguely accurate prediction I can make is that I'll Likely be on holiday from tomorrow for a week.

Here's hoping the oil spike won't kick in till it's all over, eh?

posted by Keegan at 5:39 pm

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