Played You Out As If Your Name Was Sega

For the longest time, every foreign policy move and act of aggression the Bush administration has seen fit to make has been - almost to a one - exactly what Osama Bin Laden wanted, predicted, or boasted about. Bush essentially played right into the hands of a murderer, turning a low level thug into an international superstar of sorts, and did just what bin Laden promised the West would do, bolstering his credibility and standing in the process. Another mark of the particular brilliance of this president.

In any case, Think Progress digs up this gem from a decade ago, when the price of oil was $11 a barrel:

In a 1998 interview, Osama bin Laden — the terrorist who organized 9/11 — listed as one of his many grievances against the U.S. that Americans “have stolen $36 trillion from Muslims” by purchasing oil from Persian Gulf countries at low prices. The real price of a barrel of oil should be $144, bin Laden demanded.

Ten years ago today, the price of a barrel of oil was just $11. Heading into this holiday weekend, the price of a barrel of oil rested at $144 — a thirteen-fold increase.

One month after 9/11, the New York Times wrote of possible “nightmare” scenarios that would deliver bin Laden’s goal. Neela Banerjee warned that among the “misguided decisions” that would put oil supplies at risk would be “that the United States attacks Iraq.” The Times included this quote in its story:

“If bin Laden takes over and becomes king of Saudi Arabia, he’d turn off the tap,” said Roger Diwan, a managing director of the Petroleum Finance Company, a consulting firm in Washington. “He said at one point that he wants oil to be $144 a barrel” — about six times what it sells for now.

Bin Laden didn’t have to become king of Saudi Arabia to achieve his goal; in fact, Bush’s policies delivered it for him. The Bush administration’s catastrophic decision to invade Iraq, sink the nation into debt to pay for that war, and consequently, weaken the dollar have all caused oil prices to soar astronomically.

By late afternoon Friday, on the Fourth of July, for crying out loud, the price of a barrel of light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was $144.25. And that was after falling from a high of $145.29 the day before.

Heck of a job, Bushie.