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Democrats in Washington are enfuriated that Saudi Arabia and OPEC want to cut oil production, which will lead to higher pump prices for gas.<\/p>\n
\nWithin minutes of the OPEC+ announcement<\/a>, the White House warned it will \u201cconsult with Congress on additional tools and authorities\u201d designed to curb OPEC\u2019s \u201ccontrol\u201d over energy prices.<\/p>\n
That vague statement appears to be a thinly veiled warning that President Joe Biden could consider a dramatic and risky step: Throwing his weight behind NOPEC legislation.<\/p>\n
Short for the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act,<\/a> NOPEC would empower the Justice Department to go after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations for antitrust violations.<\/p>\n
Yet some analysts warn such a move could backfire, setting the stage for a tit-for-tat battle with the world\u2019s largest producer group that drives gasoline prices even higher.<\/a> \u00a0 CNN<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Not to be outdone, a trio of Democrat Congresscritters (Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, Sean Casten of Illinois; and Susan Wild of Pennsylvania) announced they would introduce a bill to\u00a0 remove all US troops from Saudi Arabia and the UAE\u00a0 due to their “hostile act against the United States and a clear signal that they have chosen to side with Russia in its war against Ukraine”.<\/p>\n
“Both countries have long relied on an American military presence in the Gulf to protect their security and oil fields. We see no reason why American troops and contractors should continue to provide this service to countries that are actively working against us,” they added. “If Saudi Arabia and the UAE want to help [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, they should look to him for their defense.”<\/p>\n
The United States has about 3,000 troops in Saudi Arabia and 2,000 in the UAE, numbers that have been boosted in recent years to help protect those countries from missile strikes by Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.Military.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I see NOPEC as a positive step, in a way – for 50 years we have had the capability to do something about energy independence, and yet for only a few years have we actually even approached it. 50 years in which we have made baby steps in fuel efficiency… and have adopted giant trucks and SUVs as our grocery-getters. We made progress on freeing up our huge reserves of shale oil and gas – only to have our current administration throttle future growth in its first days in office. Gee, if there was only something like a pipeline to bring in oil pumped on this continent somehow… or a way to harness all that DC hot air for electric generation.<\/p>\n
Having our troops stop defending the Saudis? I have always resented our guys being used as janissaries by the turbaned set, but surely there are better ways out than by inviting the Russians in to guard the world’s biggest oil supplies. Think the Nord Stream debacle is a pretty clear indicator of how reliable an energy partner they would be. Maybe we should let the Yemeni Houthis know we are taking a training holiday – till next year.<\/p>\n
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