I just read what I think is a fascinating review article on Saudi Arabia from last month's New York Review of Books:
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17477
The two points that struck me most were that 1) Saudi influence is not nearly as extensive as the left likes to believe it is, and 2) Just as in 1970 the States became a net importer of oil, in 2000 imports accounted for more than half of consumption for the first time.
I think the left's concern about the Sauds displays a certain level of paranoia and perhaps even xenophobia (despicable as many aspects of the Saudi government certainly are) while the increases in levels of super-interventionalism in right-wing ideology may, perhaps , be fruitfully tied to milestones in America's increasing dependence on resources from the rest of the world.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17477
The two points that struck me most were that 1) Saudi influence is not nearly as extensive as the left likes to believe it is, and 2) Just as in 1970 the States became a net importer of oil, in 2000 imports accounted for more than half of consumption for the first time.
I think the left's concern about the Sauds displays a certain level of paranoia and perhaps even xenophobia (despicable as many aspects of the Saudi government certainly are) while the increases in levels of super-interventionalism in right-wing ideology may, perhaps , be fruitfully tied to milestones in America's increasing dependence on resources from the rest of the world.
