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| A rebel militiaman guards a Libyan oil refinery in rebel-held territory, 02/27/11. (photo: John Moore/Getty Images) |
24 October 11
It's somewhat rare to hear a Senator tell the truth about American foreign policy, but we did get a glimpse of reality last week when Senator Lindsey Graham lustily talked about the death of Gadhafi. He said, "There's a lot of money to be made in the future in Libya. There's a lot of oil to be produced. Let's get on the ground and help the Libya people establish a democracy and a functioning economy based on free market principles."
Though rare, this is not the first time a high profile
American politician has accidentally told the truth about our foreign
policy. In March, 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told a
Senate appropriations committee that the war with Iraq would be paid for
by Iraqi "frozen assets" and "oil revenues." This was not completely
crazy - the first Gulf War had largely been financed by foreign
countries who saw value in the oil supply lines we were protecting.
At the same time last week, the American solar industry filed a trade complaint against Chinese solar makers,
who produce 55% of the world's solar panels. They allege that China is
selling its solar panels below cost, which would be consistent with the
Chinese industrial policy of preparing for a post-oil world. According
to Stephen Leeb's new book "Red Alert," China spends over $350 billion a
year on renewable energy infrastructure, locking up critical supplies
of zinc, silver, gold, copper, and rare earth minerals. Meanwhile,
America spends its money keeping sea lanes open for dwindling oil
supplies.
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