"And there is the possibility that Cuba will also turn hot. As the situation on the island becomes increasingly desperate, the Cuban government may make a move that Trump could use as a pretext for an invasion. Axios recently reported that Cuba has amassed hundreds of drones over the past few years. These drones might be used in an attempt to break the blockade, or they might be used defensively against the US base at Guantanamo Bay or targets in Florida if the US attacks."
I will laugh my ass off* if the Cubans run the same playbook that Ukraine is running against Russia right now and start taking out petroleum infrastructure in the Gulf States.
* (I reserve a license to be amused by all of this with gallows humor, because ALL OF THIS WAS EASILY AVOIDABLE.)
"Ultimately, it may be up to Congress to resolve both crises."
You almost made me snort Gatorade out of my nose laughing.
Unless this crisis drags on into 2027 and the American people wise up and boot out Mike Johnson and the rest of Trump's enablers who have stood by and allowed all this to happen, we're going to remain in the passenger seat while a demented Boomer continues to get schooled in the real-life game of Risk.
How exactly does the US, an exporter of oil, get into the same position as Cuba, a country that imports all the oil it consumes? Why in all your speculations is there not a single comment about any role that China may have in influencing Iran? How is China’s influence in the Southern Hemisphere growing when they were recently booted from Panama and Venezuela? How reliable is information that comes from “ rumors of leaked emails”?
The US mostly exports refined products: while ~40% is crude, ~25% is propane/butane/ethane, ~15% distillate fuel oil, and the remaining gasoline/diesel/etc... combine to make the remainder. For a more simple data point: we export 4mil barrels of crude while importing 6.3mil - per day.
Which is mostly irrelevant, because it's a commodity and prices are set by the market - so if producers can sell it for more than they can here they will.
Southern Hemisphere encompasses more than South America - e.g. Africa and Oceania. Our actions have turned others off of the US, and China has spent many years building their influence while Trump has done little else than diminish ours.
As I've said previously: if you are really concerned about China, then you should be hating basically everything Trump does as being contrary to what is needed to actually counter China.
Additionally, a lot of our SPR is now going to other countries.
We are a net exporter of petroleum products, but we still import a lot of raw crude oil. Even if we didn’t, our oil markets are still subject to international price spikes.
"And there is the possibility that Cuba will also turn hot. As the situation on the island becomes increasingly desperate, the Cuban government may make a move that Trump could use as a pretext for an invasion. Axios recently reported that Cuba has amassed hundreds of drones over the past few years. These drones might be used in an attempt to break the blockade, or they might be used defensively against the US base at Guantanamo Bay or targets in Florida if the US attacks."
I will laugh my ass off* if the Cubans run the same playbook that Ukraine is running against Russia right now and start taking out petroleum infrastructure in the Gulf States.
* (I reserve a license to be amused by all of this with gallows humor, because ALL OF THIS WAS EASILY AVOIDABLE.)
"Ultimately, it may be up to Congress to resolve both crises."
You almost made me snort Gatorade out of my nose laughing.
Unless this crisis drags on into 2027 and the American people wise up and boot out Mike Johnson and the rest of Trump's enablers who have stood by and allowed all this to happen, we're going to remain in the passenger seat while a demented Boomer continues to get schooled in the real-life game of Risk.
I don’t know. Trump may have unintentionally broke the logjam. Cassidy backed a war powers vote today.
https://thehill.com/homenews/5886024-bill-cassidy-iran-war-powers/
Hopefully Massie will have some fun with the Speech and Debate Clause now that he has nothing to lose, either.
The problem is it's only those that are losing their seats.
How exactly does the US, an exporter of oil, get into the same position as Cuba, a country that imports all the oil it consumes? Why in all your speculations is there not a single comment about any role that China may have in influencing Iran? How is China’s influence in the Southern Hemisphere growing when they were recently booted from Panama and Venezuela? How reliable is information that comes from “ rumors of leaked emails”?
“
The US mostly exports refined products: while ~40% is crude, ~25% is propane/butane/ethane, ~15% distillate fuel oil, and the remaining gasoline/diesel/etc... combine to make the remainder. For a more simple data point: we export 4mil barrels of crude while importing 6.3mil - per day.
Which is mostly irrelevant, because it's a commodity and prices are set by the market - so if producers can sell it for more than they can here they will.
Southern Hemisphere encompasses more than South America - e.g. Africa and Oceania. Our actions have turned others off of the US, and China has spent many years building their influence while Trump has done little else than diminish ours.
As I've said previously: if you are really concerned about China, then you should be hating basically everything Trump does as being contrary to what is needed to actually counter China.
Additionally, a lot of our SPR is now going to other countries.
We are a net exporter of petroleum products, but we still import a lot of raw crude oil. Even if we didn’t, our oil markets are still subject to international price spikes.
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/imports-and-exports.php