Proactive Leadership Needed in Growing Conflict

July 9, 2006 – Vol.11 No.16

PROACTIVE LEADERSHIP NEEDED WITH GROWING CONFLICT.

The world is sitting on the edge of its seats. Will the new conflict in the Middle East spread? Oil briefly topped $78 a barrel. If missiles continue to fly nervous traders will send oil higher in the days or weeks to come.

What’s the oil-addicted world - particularly the US - to do?

People need to conserve gasoline by driving less. The President needs to encourage people to do this. He did so after Katrina and it seemed to work: prices at the pump dropped rapidly. Leadership in times of crisis is needed. He needs to ask for the people’s help if not for the sake of the country’s economy, but for their own.

In the longer term what can people do? Get a grip on reality. There seems no possibility that in the near future the Middle East will suddenly become calm and peaceful. The region is already in flames and the winds of discontent are blowing the inferno across borders.

Further, there are no excess oil reserves on the planet that can quickly be tapped to flood the markets with cheap crude. High oil prices are here to stay. That’s the reality people need to come to grips with: they need to adjust their oil consumption habits accordingly, otherwise government might have to do it for them.