tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25740524.post3655021588089096649..comments2024-03-11T13:16:19.098-04:00Comments on Ad Orientem: Russia Reels as Oil Plunges and Sanctions BiteUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25740524.post-84034905135126001452014-12-02T15:29:12.336-05:002014-12-02T15:29:12.336-05:00I think it is a bit heavy handed to say that it is...I think it is a bit heavy handed to say that it is not an attack on Russia, only an attack on US fracking. The two are not mutually exclusive. Saudi Arabia has reason to wish:<br /><br />(1) that Russia were not propping up the Alawite/Ba'athist regime in Syria;<br /><br />(2) that Iran be financially constrained and diminished; and<br /><br />(3) that frackers in the US and Canada be hard pressed to keep their heads above financial water.<br /><br />As it happens, all three of these outcomes can be achieved with a single policy intervention. Under those circumstances, it does not make sense to say that it is one reason and not the other that motivates the Saudis. Presumably all three reasons motivate them simultaneously.Greg DeLassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12572157616072184165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25740524.post-21809118738787226192014-12-02T11:54:08.158-05:002014-12-02T11:54:08.158-05:00This is not a strategic attack on Russia. It is O...This is not a strategic attack on Russia. It is OPEC deciding it can take the short term loss to make fracking too expensive for companies in the US. It is to keep America dependent on OPEC oil in the long term.Anam Carahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03960986859370967282noreply@blogger.com