Is Gates Stirring Up Trouble With Iran To Boost Oil Prices?

Defense Chief Robert Gates knows well what the effect of escalating rhetoric against a major oil-producing nation like Iran can have on the price of oil. After he gave up his CIA chiefdom, Gates spent part of his time engaged in an event in 2005 called 'Oil Shockwave.' Shockwave' was a joint project sponsored by a couple of energy think-tanks - the National Commission on Energy Policy and Securing America's Future Energy - which simulated a world oil crisis and evaluated its effects on markets and on the price of oil. Participants included: -Robert M. Gates, former Director of Central Intelligence; -Richard N. Haass, former Director of Policy Planning at the Department of State; -General P.X. Kelley, USMC (Ret.), former Commandant of the Marine Corps, member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; -Don Nickles, former U.S. Senator; -Carol Browner, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; -Gene B. Sperling, former National Economic Advisor; -Linda Stuntz, former Deputy Secretary of Energy; -Frank Kramer, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, and; -R. James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence. -Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) served as co-chairs of the Oil ShockWave event. Scenarios included: a very cold winter in the Northern hemisphere, and terrorist attacks on Saudi Arabian and Alaskan oil ports, Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacking oil tankers and crashing them into the docking facilities at ports . . . Wiki: "The scenarios are set up by pre-produced news clips from scripted news broadcasts. Participants are also given briefing memos with background information relating to their specific cabinet positions. The participants discuss and prepare policy recommendations for an unseen Chief Executive after each part of the scenario." According to the conclusions of the study, published by the National Commission on Energy Policy, Gates and the other participants found that: "taking less than 4% of oil off the global market due to small incidents of political unrest and terrorism would cause prices to rise dramatically to more than $161 bb. It also showed that once an oil supply disruption occurs there are few short-term options for protecting the U.S. and global economy." "The threat is real and urgent, requiring immediate and sustained attention at the highest levels of government" stated Dr. Robert Gates, (then) former Director of Central Intelligence and the Oil ShockWave National Security Advisor. "To protect ourselves, we must transcend the narrow interests that have historically stood in the way of a coherent oil security strategy and implement policies that will meaningfully address both the supply and demand aspects of our current oil dilemma." Today, Gates was said by the media to have confirmed that the U.S. has "evidence" that Iran is aiding in attacks on our soldiers in Iraq. "Serial numbers and markings on explosives used in Iraq provide "pretty good" evidence that Iran is providing either weapons or technology for militants there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. Gates continued: "I think there's some serial numbers, there may be some markings on some of the projectile fragments that we found," that point to Iran." "Think?" "May be?" "Pretty good?" Where's the damn EVIDENCE?! Coming at the same time as Gate's rhetorical lashing of Iran, the WaPo reported today that oil prices rose above $60 a barrel Friday following a $2 jump the day before, stirred, in part, by Iran-U.S. tension. Did Gates come into his position as Defense Secretary with the intention of using the military to implement his own version of an "oil security strategy" to "address both the supply and demand aspects" which interest the present oil cabal in the White House? Is his elevating of flimsy evidence against Iran of aiding in attacks against out troops in Iraq simply a ploy to draw Iran into a conflict to "protect" those interests? Or, is he merely just another bought and sold executive helping his oil bosses jack up the price of oil? "The real lesson here it only requires a relatively small amount of oil to be taken out of the system to have huge economic and security implications." robert m. gates, oil shockwave national security advisor