McCain Speaks on Middle East Oil Tied to War
EmailABC News’ Bret Hovell Reports: At the end of his Friday town hall meeting in Denver, Colorado, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., seemed to imply that an energy policy less dependent on Middle Eastern oil might have prevented fighting in the region.
"My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East," McCain told a crowd of 300 at a Jewish Community Center in Denver.
"That will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East."
Watch the VIDEO HERE.
McCain’s comments came as he was discussing his Democratic rivals’ plans to remove troops from Iraq immediately, which he opposes.
"I believe that that would lead to catastrophe and chaos," he said. "And that we would have the whole region including the country [of Iraq] in such turmoil that we would be required to come back to the region."
McCain’s commitment to stay in Iraq has caused anti war activists to portray him as a war monger, and comments that he made earlier this year in New Hampshire – in which he argued for a long term troop presence after the war in Iraq is over that could last decades – have drawn criticism from both Sen. Barack Obama, and Sen. Hillary Clinton.
But today’s comments, nestled in a conversation about the war, but couched as a preview of his energy policy, expressed clearly McCain’s belief that the economic entanglement of foreign oil could lead to war.
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Folks we have more oil in the Gulf of Mexico and the north slope of Alaska than in the whole middle east. And yet they won’t permit or build any new refineries over the last 30 years. Our politicans are slaves to OPEC, who are holding us hostage while they buy our national debt, and buy up our natural resources. Ask yourselves this qustion: Why does the United Nations own our national parks system? Check out “The energy non-crisis” or “America, destroyed by design” on Google. We produce nothing and have become an outsourcing, importing, war economy that produces nothing except war and enslaves ourselves and our children to a culture of debt and the will of crumbling, corrupt financial institutions.
Posted by: Blog | May 2, 2008, 4:37 pm 4:37 pm
My Friends, it looks like his policy is to stay the course…. even if it takes 100 years.
Of course Oil is fungible and if we’re getting our oil from Nigeria, Mexico, Venzuela and Canada, Our Friends will be buying it from the Middle East.
And if something happens to the supply of one source of oil, the price of other sources will be effected. It is Fungible.
Posted by: The Commander Guy | May 2, 2008, 4:37 pm 4:37 pm
Looks like the Bush administration is spending just as much money blogging the message boards, as they are buying time for fabricated news stories. Touche`. A 100 year war, a falling dollar, tent cities in public parks, and our national resources being auctioned off to the highest (international) bidder. Where do I sign up for four more years, let alone 100!?!
Posted by: Blog | May 2, 2008, 5:06 pm 5:06 pm
anybody inspired by Barry’s empty, filthy
rhetoric??
Posted by: marcia | May 2, 2008, 5:15 pm 5:15 pm
Commence “War for Oil” conspiracy theorizing!
Posted by: Benson | May 2, 2008, 5:31 pm 5:31 pm
We could get off foreign oil altogether with a Zero Emissions Mandate. Stop making cars that run on gasoline. Helps the economy, unemployment, environment, foreign oil and healthcare.
I don’t think you have the guts for it John. I think you’d rather take on a few elk, moose and bears than the oil companies and the car manufacturers.
Posted by: Louis | May 2, 2008, 5:53 pm 5:53 pm
THANK YOU MCCAIN FOR THAT STRAIGHT TALK,YOU FOR GOT TO MENTION AND BY THE WAY IT WAS NOT BECAUSE OF WMD,OR SADDAM OR TO FIGHT A WAR ON TERRORISM LIKE BUSH TOLD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE; IT WAS BECAUSE OF OIL THAT’S WHY OVER 4000 AMERICAN SOILDERS DIED AND ARE STILL DYING; NOT TO MENTION THE IRAQ CITIZENS.
Posted by: merle7 | May 2, 2008, 5:59 pm 5:59 pm
We went to war for Oil. The statement is pretty darn clear…
Posted by: Donald Puq | May 2, 2008, 9:12 pm 9:12 pm
He was referring to the Gulf War when Saddam invaded Kuwait.
Posted by: Armando | May 3, 2008, 12:34 am 12:34 am
Uh, where did the oil expert get his facts about the amount of oil in Alaska? As I recall the total amount of oil reserves there are just about equal to the amount the USA uses in 12 months, not equal to all the reserves in the Middle East as he would have us believe. Also not a drop of that oil would hit the USA for ten years. Just another Republican not getting his facts straight before he opens his mouth. As far as building new refineries, the oil industry has us over a barrel – why would they want to build a new refinery when they have created billions of dollars of profit by creating a shortage of gasoline by not running the existing refineries at 100% capacity now?
Posted by: GeoDubyahLozer | May 3, 2008, 11:01 am 11:01 am
OBAMA just won Guam and picked up 2 delegates and both supers for a total of 4!!!!!!
Posted by: Brian | May 3, 2008, 7:26 pm 7:26 pm