Who's Worried about Oil?
I was just checking out the internet for interesting bits on Saudi Arabia and came across this. Now, i think i can say with certainty that the most people do not want the US to simply expropriate Iraqi oil...however, I think Iraqis and Americans probably want to develop somewhat more than the estimated 2% of the total utilized reserves of Iraq. So this poses a quesion: where does this leave the Saudis? Probably in a place most people want to see the governing body of Saudi Arabia: Sweating it in the middle east. Without the dependence on the saudis and hopefully with a little help from Russia, Iraq, Venezuela and Canada the US (and the rest of the world) will be able to apply real pressure on Saudi Arabia to change for the better...or leave the newly competitive oil market to force change...

If things get much worse for the massive young, unemployed and educated group of men in Saudi Arabia, a revolt against the powers that be will be the end of "Saudi" Arabia. Democracy, i hope, will prevail (but i doubt it). Some people worry about an islamic country with fundamentalist leaders in a democratic system.."nothing will change!" they'll be worse, etc.....Hardly. Even a muslim country like Turkey, who has its share of wingnuts, seems to operate with a keen sense of evenhandedness. The problem is countries like Saudi Arabia are beholden to no one and rule only by fear. The turkish leaders know that if they mess up the living standards of the Turkish people (which is possible if they screw around like Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran) they will not be re-elected. The argument doesn't wash. A government beholden to a broad spetrum of people is far better than a tyranny beholden to no one.