Editor,
Very little has been said about this administration's vision of America's future.
It was developed in June 1997 by the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse (FHA), along with their underlings. The vision, contained in their Statement of Principles, read, in part, "the history of this country should have taught us to embrace the cause of American leadership" in the world - become more assertive and/or aggressive.
While the United States comprises a small part of the world's population, we use a large percentage of the world's oil. While in office, Daddy Bush stated that, "the American lifestyle is not negotiable."
Thus, and since the FHA are running this country, loosely translated, this means that we will continue our heavy dependence on oil and we will get it one way or another.
Following the Sept. 11 incident, Congress, with minimal debate, gave the administration a blanket authorization to wage war against terrorism anytime and anywhere. And so, the "white horse rider" was given an emperor's crown and a bow with the authority to conquer; the "red horse rider" was given power to take peace away from the earth and kill; the "black horse rider" was given a pair of judicial balances and the authority to exact a measure of wheat and three measures of barley for two pennies, but told not to harm the oil; and the "pale horse rider" was given the name of Death and Hell was ordered to follow him.
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This brings us to the FHA's unilateral invasion of Iraq under the guise of the Iraqi people's liberation. Presently, there are about 1 trillion barrels of oil reserves in the world of which Saudi Arabia has about 259 billion, while Iraq has about 432 billion. Furthermore, where it costs us about $5 to $25 to pump a barrel of oil, it only costs Iraq about $1.50. This makes Iraqi oil not only abundant, but most profitable. This explains why we chose not to liberate the African people who are in worse distress than the Iraqi people - it is not profitable.
The problem with our current empirical vision is that we have to be willing continue to foul up our waters and air; gamble that raising the CO2 levels won't destabilize the world's atmosphere and climate; and hold the rest of the world at gunpoint for their oil, if necessary.
The only person I know that had a valid futuristic vision that was in the best interest of this country was Jimmy Carter. He stated that we must not find ourselves having to fight wars to seize other people's oil. He put in place energy tax credits and incentives that resulted in a new industry based on building solar-heated homes, windmill-powered communities and the development of fuel alternatives to oil.
Unfortunately, Reagan's first official acts in office were to remove Carter's solar panels from the White House, repeal the tax incentives for renewable energy and kill off the new industry. No president since then has had the vision and courage to face the hard reality that Carter put forth.
Nahum B. Castillo
Daily Lobo reader
