The OPEC Summit (the American Version)

The OPEC Summit (the American Version)
By David Glenn Cox



We hold the freedom of the press dearly, that a free and independent media can spread the truth to a free and independent people. That then those free people armed with only the truth can make wise decisions so that their country might be a shinning example to the rest of the world with love and benevolence for all its fellow man.

From CBS: (CBS/AP) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned the Unites States on Saturday that oil prices could more than double if Washington attacked his country or Iran - part of a provocative opening address here to a rare OPEC summit.

After Chavez's speech, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, the conservative head of the world's largest oil exporter, appeared to rebuke the leftist president by insisting "OPEC has always acted moderately and wisely."

The king also sought to head off Chavez's attempt to reshape OPEC in his socialist image, saying the organization "has not overlooked its responsibilities to developing countries and poverty alleviation."

But Chavez's comments overshadowed another controversial discussion, whether to drop the dollar as the standard for pricing petroleum, reports.

In part, the move was political -- to embarrass the United States, but there are also basic economics involved. The value of the dollar against foreign currencies is dropping, which in turn is one of the reasons oil prices are rising.

The Venezuelan president has accused Washington of backing a short-lived 2002 coup against him -- a claim U.S. officials strongly deny.

From CNN: OPEC ends summit, blames wealthy nations for oil crisis

OPEC Secretary-General Rilwanu Lukman suggested that those wealthy nations should put their own house in order "by ensuring that their environmental, fiscal, energy and trade policies do not discriminate against oil, thereby helping to achieve global sustainable development."

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has championed the interests of developing nations. He blasted the world's industrial powers for expecting cheap energy, and complained that Third World debt is more crippling to the world's impoverished than costly fuel.

Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest producer of oil, sought to temper the tone struck in the summit declaration by advocating prudence in discussions with industrialized nations.

No mention of the weak dollar in CNN’s reporting, Just Hugo Chavez Prince Abdullah and Mr.Lukeman.

Forbes doesn’t even mention Chavez or Iraq or Iran or the weak dollar and this is a business magazine.

USA Today: At OPEC summit, Chavez warns U.S. against attack

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — In his opening address of a rare OPEC summit, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned the United States on Saturday that oil prices would further surge if the U.S. contemplates an attack against his country or Iran.

The summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries opened Saturday in Saudi Arabia, with heads of states and delegates from 12 of the world's biggest oil-producing nations listening to a recitation from the Quran.

After the quotes from Islam's holy book, Chavez warned that the U.S. should not target OPEC members for foreign policy reasons.

"If the United States attempts the madness of invading Iran or attacking Venezuela again, the price of oil is probably going to reach $200, not just $100," Chavez said.

While Iran has been in a standoff with the U.S. over its nuclear program, left-wing Chavez is a bitter antagonist of President Bush.


Sadly this is USA today all right, race baiting with repeated mentions of the Quran as if that has anything at all to do with the summit or it’s conclusions. According to USA today the summit was all about the Quran and Hugo Chavez no mention of the weak dollar or calls for and environmental tax on oil consuming countries. “Chavez is a bitter antagonist of President Bush” or shouldn’t that be Bush is a bitter antagonist of Chavez?” After all Chavez hasn’t tried to overthrow Bush’s government.


The summit from the rest of the world


From Rueters: OPEC summit statement to stress on climate-delegates

RIYADH, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A statement to be issued at a meeting of OPEC leaders this weekend will emphasise the role of the exporter group in helping to combat climate change, delegates from the producer group said on Friday.

Heads of state from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are holding a summit in Riyadh on Nov. 17-18. Oil ministers have said the meeting will not decide short-term oil output policy, which will be discussed when they meet in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 5.

OPEC oil, finance and foreign ministers were expected to meet later on Friday to decide the wording of the draft declaration.

"It will emphasise the role of OPEC countries and oil producers in mitigating global warming," said one delegate who has seen the draft. "It is not about short-term issues."


Aljazeera opens with: Chavez warns US at OPEC summit

Venezuela's president has warned that oil prices could more than double if the US attacks his country or Iran. In his opening address on Saturday at a rare Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries summit in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital, he declared that the group should "assert itself as an active political agent".

"If the United States was mad enough to attack Iran or aggress Venezuela again the price of a barrel of oil won't just reach $100 but even $200 dollars," he said.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer, rebuffed Chavez's idea of OPEC becoming an overtly political organisation.

"Oil is an energy for development, it should not become a tool for conflict and emotions," King Abdullah, the Saudi monarch, said.


The Aljazeera story pointed out Chavez’s remarks but also made clear that OPEC should not become a tool. So it’s not so much what US media publishes but what they leave out. For instance, here’s a little woopsy they missed.

Earlier this week, Samuel Bodman, the US energy secretary called on OPEC to increase production in order to halt oil price rises.

But OPEC officials said they will not discuss whether to increase oil supplies until the group meets next month in the United Arab Emirates.

They also cast doubt on the effect any output hike would have on oil prices, saying the recent rise has been driven by the falling US dollar and financial speculation by investment funds, rather than any supply shortage. Saudi Arabia, a close US ally, objected on Saturday to an attempt by Iran and Venezuela to highlight concern over the weakness of the US dollar.

A closed session of foreign and finance ministers voted against the proposal.

Abdalla Salem el-Badri, the OPEC secretary-general, said the group had decided not to mention concern over dollar depreciation in the declaration.

Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, told the session: "My fear is that any mention that OPEC makes of studying the issue of the dollar will in itself have an impact."

A microphone mistakenly left on meant that the comments of al-Faisal were accidentally broadcast to journalists on Saturday.

He rejected the proposal by Iran and Venezuela who wanted the meeting to discuss the weak dollar, saying: "There are media people outside waiting to catch this point and they will add to it and we may find that the dollar collapses."

Embarrassed organisers switched off the microphones after the comment.

OPEC is under pressure to increase its output to help calm record crude prices that reached almost $100 a barrel for the first time last week.

Some OPEC members want to increasingly sell their oil in euros and not dollars.

The Gulf Arab states and Saudi Arabia earn more than a billion dollars a day from oil sales.

Mamdouh Salameh, an international oil expert, told Al Jazeera: "Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are under the US military umbrella. Consequently, it will be anti-American decision if they shift to another currency other than the dollar."

Concern is growing, however, that the dollar's weakness signals the end of its reign as the world's main international currency.

The dollar would be further damaged if OPEC started selling its oil in euros or created a basket of currencies as some producers now want.

Saudi Arabia's investments in the US - and many other countries - are also threatened by a weaker dollar.

The dollar has fallen 10 per cent against the euro this year, hitting oil producers' income. The falling dollar has also made imports much more expensive, with Gulf countries particularly affected. Inflation has risen dramatically, affecting low paid foreign workers especially hard. Now Gulf currencies, such as the UAE dirham which has been pegged to the dollar for the past 30 years, could be unpegged because of growing pressure.


Gee, I don’t know but I would have thought that OPEC’s concern about a possible dollar collapse would have been news worthy to the American media. Maybe even more so than reading the Quran in the opening of the meeting.

The Summit from the American media perspective was all about Hugo Chavez trying to take over OPEC for his own purposes. OPEC upping it’s production with some minor discussions about economics. Dull stuff really, but what about Brittany Spears?

To the rest of the world the summit was about long term production goals of OPEC and addressing environmental concerns like global warming. In the US global warming is only an invention of Al Gore and should be ignored. Like OPEC’s real concern about the dollars collapse a fact that US allies worked diligently to hide, so worried in fact that even the mention of the possibility might actually cause it.

Yes God Bless our free media, free to tell us anything they choose and just as free not to tell us anything they choose. God bless their pointed little heads