Ramesh:

“You say that if radical anti-American types refuse to sell it to others,

there are ‘things’ we can do about it and we have shown we have the will to

do those things. I am not quite sure what you mean by this.”

Glad to elucidate. I mean that we can attack them, defeat their armies,

kill or capture their leaders, and smash up their infrastructure. As we

have recently done to Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Anyway, I think it does make a difference whether radical anti-American

regimes are rich or poor…”

That is an interesting point. Does it, actually? Would Libya (say) or Iran

have been more, or less, of a nuisance this past 20 years if they were poor?

Discuss among yourselves.

“It does make a difference whether other countries in the region and then

the world feel they should kowtow to those regimes, and it does make a

difference whether those regimes can throw the world economy into a

tailspin.”

Their ability to do so is much exaggerated. We survived ‘73. See also the

excellent Huber article in the WSJ a couple of weeks ago.

“If you wish to deny that any of these things should matter to Americans,

then it’s hard to see why you’d be concerned (as you suggested you were)

about American dependence on Mideast oil either.”

I desperately wish we were not so dependent. While we are, though, there

are feasible solutions that do not involve saving the world.