By Daniel Williams and Maher Chmaytelli
Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez brought his revolutionary zeal to the cartel that controls 40 percent of the world's oil, urging fellow members at a weekend summit to fight against ``imperialism'' and ``exploitation.''
Chavez used the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to advance a struggle for the soul of the cartel. Countering him was the conference host, Saudi King Abdullah, who said the organization's goal was simply to produce prosperity.
Their contrasting visions elbowed aside the usual OPEC talk about production quotas and currency fluctuations. In the short term at least, Abdullah's vision is likely to prevail, said Ihsan Bu-Hulaiga, who runs a private business consulting firm in Riyadh and advises the Saudi government.
``OPEC has to do with oil; it cannot solve the world's problems with a political agenda,'' he said. ``It would be putting its bread and butter at risk.''
Chavez, Ahmadinejad to Work Against US
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The presidents of Venezuela and Iran boasted Monday that they will defeat U.S. imperialism together, saying the fall of the dollar is a prelude to the end of Washington's global dominance.
Hugo Chavez's visit to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran followed a failed weekend attempt by the firebrand duo to push the Organization of Petroleum Exporting States away from trading in the slumping greenback. Their proposal at an OPEC summit was overruled by other cartel members led by Saudi Arabia, a strong U.S. ally. But the cartel agreed to have OPEC finance ministers discuss the idea, and the two allies' move showed their potential for stirring up problems for the U.S. The alliance between Chavez and Ahmadinejad has blossomed with several
exchanged visits—Monday's was Chavez's fourth time in Tehran in two years—a string of technical agreements and a torrent of rhetoric presenting their two countries as an example of how smaller nations can stand up to the superpower. "Here are two brother countries, united like a single fist," Chavez said upon his arrival in Tehran, according to Venezuela's state-run Bolivarian News Agency.
WHAT IS THE CIA FOR?
1 comment:
From this post, which I did yesterday at The Astute Bloggers:
King Abdullah warned global warming activists and lawmakers against targeting oil use. "The echoes repeated here and there about the effect of petroleum on the environment is a discourse laced with . . . fallacies," he said.
Environmental concerns have come up repeatedly this week because OPEC officials worry that new taxes or cap-and-trade programs for greenhouse gases could add to the cost of petroleum products and put a dent in demand for oil. Earlier in the week, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said that "we do not like policies that discriminate against petroleum or fossil fuels in general."
Hmmmm....Wonder how Al Gore feels about that?
Saudi is all about getting those oil revenues, not about their oil being apolitical. Of course, another Saudi problem which works in the favor of the U.S. is that Saudi holds a great reserve of American dollars--at least, for now.
Meanwhile, Chavez indeed wants two brother countries, united like a single fist.
Post a Comment