| The 2004 Presidential Election: The Fix Is In
On 60 Minutes Sunday night, Bob Woodward reported to Mike Wallace that his new book contains an account of Saudi Arabian Ambassador, Prince Bandar, promising Bush that he would win the election because Saudi Arabia would manipulate the oil prices prior to the election to help strengthen the Bush economy. Saudi Arabia has had long-time personal business arrangements with the Bush family.
60 Minutes Excerpt
"Prince Bandar enjoys easy access to the Oval Office. His family and the Bush family are close. And Woodward told 60 Minutes that Bandar has promised the president that Saudi Arabia will lower oil prices in the months before the election - to ensure the U.S. economy is strong on election day.
"Woodward says that Bandar understood that economic conditions were key before a presidential election: Theyre [oil prices] high. And they could go down very quickly. That's the Saudi pledge. Certainly over the summer, or as we get closer to the election, they could increase production several million barrels a day and the price would drop significantly."
About Bush's Iraq war, Bush told Woodward that he, Bush, was God's messanger as he commited the United States to war. Bush did not ask the Sec. of Defense, the Sec. of State, his War Council, or the United States Congress. Bush did ask Condi Rice and Karen Hughes, reports Woodward
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OK LETS FAST FOWARD TO TODAYS NEWS
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Saudi signals push on oil production ceiling
By Kevin Morrison and Javier Blas in Amsterdam
Published: May 23 2004 10:33 | Last Updated: May 23 2004 12:52
Saudi Arabia has signalled it wants to increase the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries production quota from 2m barrels a day to as much as 2.5m b/d, bringing the quota into line with current output.
The measure unlikely to be welcomed by other Opec members, who had reservations about a plan for a smaller increase in the output ceiling.
The fresh initiative underlines Saudi Arabia's seriousness to address rising oil prices and fulfil strong demand from the US and China. It also pits the Kingdom against many of its fellow Opec members who have limited ability to increase production.
The split was highlighted at the meeting of most Opec ministers in Amsterdam attending a forum between producers and consumers. Ministers were only in agreement about their concern of the high oil price, but were in disagreement about the increase in quotas and the causes for US crude futures price rise to above $40 a barrel.
Ali Naimi, Saudi Arabia's oil minister, said in an interview with al-Hyatt newspaper that Opec's self-imposed ceiling could be raised between 2.3m b/d and 2.5m b/d, a level other Opec members are expected to disagree with, giving that some members had reservations about raising the quota by the already revised Saudi proposal of 2m b/d.
Mr Naimi told the newspaper that a price of $30 to $40 a barrel would not annoy anybody, and that high prices would put world economic growth in danger.
"The market would welcome $35 because it fears $50 and we also fear that price," Mr Naimi was quoted as saying. | |
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