If you really think it's as simple as "it's the oil", why aren't we bombing Venezuela?

[Recursion]

Compared to Syria, Venezuela is closer. Venezuela has a significantly smaller military. Venezuela has a lot more oil.

Simplistic explanations for complex processes rarely work.

[VanillaRhapsody]

1. Not about oil from OUR perspective

its about Russia's oil. Russia supplies EU with it....and Assad stands between them keeping a natural gas pipeline from being built through Syria. Russia would like to keep things that way...which is why Russia is so chummy with Assad.

[Recursion]

3. Syria already has several pipelines

I've never understood this particular allegation. They've been working with Iraq to expand their piping capacity for a few years now.

[VanillaRhapsody]

6. Natural gas....

big difference... Russia doesn't want THAT to happen

[Recursion]

7. They already have NG and LNG pipelines

From Egypt and Iraq. The problem there isn't getting to Turkey but across it.

[joshcryer]

15. And as Libya shows, pipelines post-war aren't secure.

And can be stolen from. No one wants a country that will take 5-10 years to get its security back in shape to keep oil theft from happening.

[hfojvt]

2. now you've done it

Don't give them any ideas.

[Skip Intro]

4. Oil has to be a factor, primary or secondary.

Little doubt about that.

Saudi Arabia seems to play a role in everything. Just saying.

A complex of lies can be undone by a single simple truth.

What do you think the reason is?

[Recursion]

5. Complex systems have complex explanations

Some combination of proximity to oil-producing countries, proximity to Israel, support for Hezbollah, support from Iran, trying to squeeze Russia's influence out of the Levant, credibility for US-drawn red lines about WMDs, concerns about Kurdish agitation in Turkey and Iraq... there's probably a dozen more, but that's off the top of my head.

[TheKentuckian]

33. Humanitarian mercy mission probably doesn't make the top six dozen

Making somebody more wealthy takes the entire top twenty.

[devils chaplain]

8. There's no good cover story yet as an excuse to bomb them. I'm sure many look forward to getting one

n/t

[Benton D Struckcheon]

9. Civil war's been going on for two years.

What evidence do you have that this admin has been just dying to attack Syria if they didn't do it for all that time?

[devils chaplain]

11. Dying to get involved? No. Eager to pounce at the chance to intervene? Absolutely. n/t

[Skidmore]

34. And how do you know this?

What evidence do you have beyond wishful thinking?

[DevonRex]

10. Because some dipshit at The Guardian or Conservatives for Liberty

hasn't thought that through. So they went with the standard ME line. And it promptly got swallowed whole here. And even linked to. Yes, Conservatives For Liberty was linked to in order to prove Obama is evil. What a fucking joke.

[dionysus]

38. are you fucking kidding me?

[DevonRex]

39. No I am not.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3571363

[dionysus]

40. somehow i am not surprised. they're all standing with rand and slagging dems as per usual.

[Hestia]

12. Cheney decided to go "The Coup" route with Venezuela - didn't work n/t

[mick063]

13. Five reasons

1) Light Sweet Crude
2) Suez Canal
3) Volume of Oil in entire region
4) Politically viable military action
5) Huge oil industry Infrastructure

[DeSwiss]

16. Bingo.

These ''rebuttals'' are rarely thought through.

But then, that's not their purpose.

[joshcryer]

18. Venezuela has as much as the entire Middle East.

They have 296 billion barrels of conventional oil and 513 billion barrels of unconventional oil. Venezuela makes up 9% of US oil imports, so the infrastructure is already there to make a post-invasion process viable.

[mick063]

19. After we tap the Middle East dry

I'm sure we will start on South America.

Don't worry. they will have their day in the sun.


Untenable resource demand will perpetuate global wars for the next millennium and beyond.

[joshcryer]

27. North America will be energy independent in a decade.

It's not actually going to work out that way. The US will be exporting its dirty coal (of which it has a lot) and oil to developing countries.

[mick063]

30. I will believe it when I see it.

No doubt there is a lot of fossil fuels available in North America. The Middle East stuff is so much easier to extract and refine. We won't leave until we have to.

[joshcryer]

31. Massive coal exports are already happening:

http://www.eia.gov/coal/production/quarterly/

[joshcryer]

14. Oh, I assure you, they have trumpted that meme.

I don't have the patience to cite the sources, but there are people that think that the US is about to any day bomb Venezuela. In particular when the latest elections happened and there were non-violent protests there were non-stop discussions about how Venezuela was "descending into chaos." It was embarrassing, especially since most people don't know squat about Venezuela except what they read on propaganda sites.

[Taverner]

17. Not just oil. It's about a region. It's about Israel. It's about the MIC. It's about money.

It's about faux outrage.

It's about what privilege brings, and the feelings one has against those who do not have such privilege.

In short, it's about a racket. Quite possibly the oldest racket ever invented.

[Rex]

20. Because they are one of the lucky OPEC members

that gets left alone. You are right it is not about the oil.

[sabrina 1]

21. The US attempted a coup in Venezuela and failed. Then they were pre-occupied

with their ME invasions for the next decade.

Meantime, South American nations sick of our interference and support for Dictators, regained their sovereignties one after the other. They then formed their version of NATO in order to protect themselves from any further interference from the Western Powers.

Attacking Venezuela now would not be like Venezuela ten years ago. We would be fighting the entire region. This was a very smart move on the part of a region of the world that suffered so long under US Backed Dictators.

Iow, a strike on Venezuela would be a strike on all the countries who are part of that coalition.

That's one reason. If the ME countries had had a similar organization, it would have been far more difficult to attack them one at a time as we are doing. Africa also has considered forming their own version of NATO in order to defend against Western interventions.

Maybe the West should just try buying the resources they need instead of continuing these murderous invasions that have been going on for hundreds of years, destroying populations and their cultures and sovereignty.

The sad thing is this country was once the hope of the world to put an end to these Colonial invasions. Now we are leading them.

[The Straight Story]

22. Cause we like their Tacos

[La Lioness Priyanka]

23. this war is not at all about natural resources in syria.

its many many things, but not for resources

[quakerboy]

24. 1) give it time

2) Different countries, different situations. You might as well ask if its about oil, why aren't we bombing Canada. Think about allies, politics, abilities, and potentials. Essentially, what can we get away with. Syria, maybe. Venezuela not so much. talk about uniting South American against the USA.

[alittlelark]

25. Venezuela has the support of 95% of our southern neighbors....

....pretty simple, really.

[raindaddy]

26. Simplistic explanations for complex processes rarely work.

If a civil war broke out in Venezuela what makes you think we wouldn't be looking for an opportunity to bomb them?
There wasn't the talk of bombing Syria until the opportunity arose.

[Deep13]

28. Control of the Middle East is all about the oil.

This sort of thing helps maintain hegemony in the Middle East.

[Luminous Animal]

29. Syria is weak. Venezuela isn't.

Syria has few regional allies. Venezuela does.

The Venezuelan government has the popular support of its people. Syria does not.

Venezuela is a bona fide democracy. Syria is not.

[Scuba]

32. Be patient, we'll get there.

[Bluenorthwest]

35. Venezuela is surrounded by neighbors who support them over us. And you can in fact drive from there

to here if you are so inclined. Syrians could not stroll across the seas to retaliate. Of course it is no only about the oil, but the oil is a factor and the only real reason we are obsessed with that entire region. Vast swaths of the world do not get the focus the ME gets, and the reason is oil.

[indepat]

36. Many calls had been made for the removal the democratically-elected late President of Venezuela

and untold attempts have purportedly been made to undermine its government: to wit, we are working on it as we feverishly work to undermine practically every undesirable (i.e., left-leaning) regime on the face of the earth.

[reusrename]

37. They're not dirty Mooslim terra-ists, they're Catholic.

Doh!