Black Gold

The most important issue in current world politics is the battle over the industrialized world’s greatest need: oil. Throughout history, wars have been fought over territory, religion, and honor, but in today’s interconnected and industrialized world, many conflicts revolve around oil, such as in the Middle East and the Niger Delta. Major powers have developed national infrastructure and economies that depend on resources such as oil coming from foreign, and often unstable, geographical locations. The People’s Republic of China is supporting Sudan’s genocide because they need Sudanese oil; the United States is embroiled in the Middle East because our country relies on the Middle East’s great petroleum reserves. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union vied for control of oil in the Middle East. Today, the Russian Federation and the United States still play this game; the United States goes on a foray in Iraq and the Russian Federation supplies Iran with nuclear reactor technology and high-tech weapons systems. When great powers become embroiled in these oil-based conflicts, simmering regional feuds are set aflame.

-Gregory Proulx

“When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” – African proverb