Gas Prices = Indirect Warfare

[airboy]

Oil prices have fallen substantially world-wide.  Part of the reason is armed conflict.

The first reason oil prices have fallen is new fracking technology in the USA.  The USA in 2015 was the worlds largest oil producer!

The second reason oil prices have fallen is Saudi/Iran/Russian warfare.  Iran and Russia generate most of their trade income through oil.  The Saudi's have increased production to help keep oil prices low, thus harming Iran and Russia.

In the Middle East, there is a proxy war going on in multiple countries (Yemen, Syria, Iran, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan) between groups backed by Iran, those backed by Russia, and those backed by the Saudis. 

The Saudi's have used oil production and resulting world oil prices as a weapon multiple times.  Against Israel and the West in the 1970s, against the USSR in the 1980s, and again in the 2010s. 

There was a very interesting article about this in the Wall St. Journal this week.

[OJsDad]

The whole oil price thing is very interesting.  Saudi Arabia and Iran, along with others, get into a spat with each other this week over SA's executing a Shia cleric, the Norks detonate a nuke, and oil goes down. 

Given the true economic shape that China is in, Europes not so good economy and their allowing Islamic refugees into their countries and then allow them to dictate how Europeans are going to live, and the US's mediocre economy, I think the next few years are going to be very interesting for the world. 

[GDS_Starfury]

[Staggerwing]

Wasn't that song on the Repo Man soundtrack?

[jejo68]

yeah, britain could use the iron lady back as prime minister instead of the undeciding pussies we call politicians today.

[Sir Slash]

HERE HERE!!!

[Gusington]

Since Saudi Arabia and Iran don't directly border each other, would the battlefield be...Iraq...if they entered direct confrontation? Or the Persian Gulf? Kuwait? All? Somewhere else?

[Airborne Rifles]

Since Saudi Arabia and Iran don't directly border each other, would the battlefield be...Iraq...if they entered direct confrontation? Or the Persian Gulf? Kuwait? All? Somewhere else?

The Persian Gulf, especially the Straits of Hormuz.

[Gusington]

I need to read up on Saudi Arabia's naval capability...if they have any.

[Staggerwing]

Here ya go:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Saudi_Navy


It's interesting that the Saudis first started building a navy to match Iran in 1972. At that time the Shah was still in power so the Saudi-Iranian enmity goes back a long ways.

[OJsDad]

The Persian Gulf, especially the Straits of Hormuz.

27 years ago I was in the Navy escorting oil tankers through the Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz and today it's still a hot spot. 

[Sir Slash]

Yeah, I remember frequent clashes there between the Saudis and Iran after the revolution. The Iranians didn't have the air power to match the Saudis and so mostly just postured against them. But at least once the Saudis shot-down Iranian aircraft straying into their airspace or threatening to.

[airboy]

Since Saudi Arabia and Iran don't directly border each other, would the battlefield be...Iraq...if they entered direct confrontation? Or the Persian Gulf? Kuwait? All? Somewhere else?

They are fighting a proxy war in Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Sudan at this time.

[OJsDad]

yeah, britain could use the iron lady back as prime minister instead of the undeciding pussies we call politicians today.

Except she would be jailed and then thrown out of the country for being a hater. 

[Gusington]

Yes of course Airboy. But I'm talking about a direct confrontation between their tradtional conventional militaries.