Yeah, I think the oil companies pull the political strings that define our foreign policy toward any oil bearing nation. Their clout varies according to the administration. And they seem to have reached their peak in the current one.

What makes you think Israel is an ally? How has their attitude toward the US ever been anything different from "what can we do for them?" It's not like they buy all that high grade military hardware from us. We give it to them in the form of foreign aid. I keep reading from time to time that Israel consumes 1/3 of the US' foreign aid. All that to the 16th most prosperous nation on the planet. Exactly how is that in the US' interest?

It's not that I'm not aware of the history of Jewish persecution, or even sympathetic toward them. However, I dislike giving aid to someone and then have them show me their appreciation by poking me in the eye with a sharp stick. Hence the indifferent tone towards Israel of many of my posts.

So why buy the Saudi's oil? At the prices we pay, including the externalities, wouldn't it make prudent national interest sense to just notify the house of Saud that they're out of business, and we're taking over the country and the oil, and all who don't like it please line up on the firing line? Nation's historically go to war for natural resources. I'd think it a slam dunk to garner 51% of the electorate's support for something as obvious to American consumers as gas for their cars and trucks.