The New York Times is reporting the Trump administration is making a case that Iran is behind the attacks on Saudi oil facilities, and is also rattling sabers.
The Trump administration intensified its focus on Iran Sunday as the likely culprit behind attacks on important Saudi Arabian oil facilities over the weekend, with officials citing intelligence assessments to support the accusation and President Trump warning that he was prepared to take military action.
The ranking comments on the article at the Times are highly skeptical, to say the least. One notes that we would be going to war to defend the people who attacked us on 911. Another notes that now the Trump administration is paying attention to the intelligence community? There’s a bigger issue here though, and an opportunity.
The following is a comment I submitted, with some minor revision.
The clearest and most effective response to this attack is not military action. The smartest thing we can do is go full throttle on the Green New Deal and get off fossil fuels as quickly as possible.
Aside from the need to do this because of the climate crisis, there are two basic reasons.
Economic Stability.
Even if the US can meet all its energy needs without Saudi oil, shortages anywhere raise prices everywhere. Uncertainty about oil prices deters investment and depresses the economy. Wind and solar costs keep coming down - and are not subject to wild price swings. Investing in that instead of another oil war would make our economy stronger. It would create good jobs here in America instead of more veterans with the burdens they bear. We can spend more trillions on a war that gets us nothing when it’s all said and done, or we can invest that money in our economy here at home.
National Security.
Oil has tied us to some of the most repressive regimes in the world and led us into several wars. Asymmetric warfare makes oil facilities inherently hard to defend - and the use of American weapons systems and our military in defense of those aforesaid regimes makes us a target and fuels further violence. War creates refugees; the instability spreads as they flee the violence of war - and creates the next generation primed for future conflict. The best way to prevent war is to wage peace with the intensity we’d put into open conflict.
And if doing this also means taking action on climate, all the better. That’s the real battle we must fight. That’s where the real victory lies.
For Democrats looking for ways to resist the call to war and make a case for the Green New Deal on grounds even conservatives should have trouble refuting, I offer the above talking points.
While I’m at it, let me put in a plug for my own particular cause as part of the way forward: Solutionary Rail. Download a copy of our eBook for free with the coupon code 4WRD2GTHR at check out.