Unless you're a liberal. At least that's what it seems like they want. So many people who are anti-war are also pro-environment. But why do these two things counter eachother, you might ask.
For starters, while this war was not started for oil--despite what anyone will try to tell you--one of the important reasons we still have troops in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East is to defend those that supply us with oil. I won't try to put everyone who is anti-war into a small box with a single label, but Democrats want us to pull our troops out of the Middle East. That's a perfectly understandable idea if you don't cite the recent success the Allied forces have had lately, or the reduced death tolls of American troops, and don't mention that our presence in the Middle East is the only thing allowing us to maintain a constant oil supply to America.
If our troops were recalled, the oil fields would be the first things to go up in flames. And oil fields burning does NOT hurt just America, but the entire world. Extremists are generally too short-sighted (or just don't care enough) to consider the effects on the overall welfare of earth. So our continued presence is detrimental to there being a supply of oil.
However, if left-wing, tree-hugging (and possibly more), animal-worshipping hippies didn't prevent our government from pursuing American drilled petroleum, we wouldn't be in a position where we have to defend the Middle East's oil supply. There are oil wells off the American coastline that contain up to 75 billion barrels worth of oil. At our current consumption rate, that one well produces enough oil to supply us for 34 years. But because humpback whales can't use any other part of the 75% of the earth that's covered by water, we are unable to drill in these areas. Never mind the fact that there hasn't been an oil spill over 1,000 barrels in the last decade. And let's also ignore the fact that more oil leaks into the ocean through natural seepage than spills every year. It doesn't matter how much oil we lose out on, as long as the Arctic elephant seal can return to the same patch of ice to mate every year.
And did I forget to mention that all of our pro-environment laws do nothing to stop Mexico, Cuba, and subsequently China and India from drilling off of our coastlines? How could I have been so careless?
But I'm sure the Dems are right in this one: let's bring back our troops, leaving a war-torn continent without a powerful mediator, AND allow anti-west extremists to burn up the region's pipelines; and let's also continue to protect species that give us no direct benefit, since it's not legal to hunt and/or eat marine mammals. I'm sure that it will all work itself out. At least we have this cake to eat, right? Oh, wait...
1 comment:
You can only kick a hornet's nest so many times before you get stung...
http://www.newsweek.com/id/143747
America and Great Britain have been messing our in the Middle East for years. So maybe it's time that we rethink our foreign policy, and relationships with totalitarian regimes such as Saudi Arabia. If not then we should stop with all of the empty platitudes about Democracy and Human rights. Because the fact is the world is a grey place, and we cannot afford ignoring that fact.
Realism or Idealism? Take your pick.
As for the liberal/conservative thing...
Liberals and Democrats only protest because it's not Bill Clinton or Barack Obama in Bush's place. Like wise, if conservatives and Republicans were in their place they would be doing the same thing. It's just the same crap under different names.
“The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected.”
- G.K. Chesterton
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