November Surprise?

[prole]

 

Doubtful.

 

So, let's consider reality for a moment. When it comes to Iran, reality means oil and natural gas. These days, any twitch of trouble, or potential trouble, affecting the petroleum market, no matter how minor - from Mexico to Nigeria - forces the price of oil another bump higher.

 

Possessing the world's second-largest reserves of oil and natural gas, Iran is no speed bump on the energy map. The National Security Network, a group of national security experts, estimates that the Bush administration's policy of bluster, threat and intermittent low-level actions against Iran has already added a premium of $30-$40 to every $140 barrel of oil. Then there was the one-day $11 spike after Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz suggested that an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities was "unavoidable".

 

Given that, let's imagine, for a moment, what almost any version of an air assault - Israeli, American or a combination of the two - would be likely to do to the price of oil. When asked recently by Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News about the effects of an Israeli attack on Iran, correspondent Richard Engel responded, "I asked an oil analyst that very question. He said, 'The price of a barrel of oil? Name your price: $300, $400 a barrel'." Former CIA official Robert Baer suggested in Time Magazine that such an attack would translate into $12 gas at the pump. ("One oil speculator told me that oil would hit $200 a barrel within minutes.")

[olyclimber]

1. Ask Again later

 

2. Can Not Predict Now

 

3. Without a Doubt

 

4. Is Decidely So

 

5. Concentrate and Ask Again

 

6. My Sources Say No

 

7. Yes, Definitely

 

8. Don't Count On It

 

9. Signs Point to Yes

 

10. Better Not Tell You Now

 

11. Outlook Not So Good

 

12. Most Likely

 

13. Very Doubtful

 

14. As I See It, Yes

 

15. My Reply is No

 

16. It Is Certain

 

17. Yes

 

18. You May Rely On It

 

19. Outlook Good

 

20. Reply Hazy Try Again

[olyclimber]