What If We Never Run Out?

May 3, 2013 in Montana

by lizard

A young doctoral candidate in international relations—Nussaibah Younis—got some nice NYT op-ed space to advocate for regime change in Iraq. Also, this is 2013.

NOBODY wants another civil war in Iraq, yet events are propelling it in that direction. War can be averted only by a new political understanding among three main groups — Sunni Arabs, Shiite Arabs and Kurds — but Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has become too divisive to deliver it.

So the United States, together with Iraq’s neighbors, must press Mr. Maliki to resign so he can be replaced with a more conciliatory figure.

Last week, Iraq experienced the most serious escalation of violence since 2006, when it slid into civil war. Now it risks being sucked into a catastrophic vortex of regional violence centered on Syria.

To contrast this doctoral candidate’s call for a collaborative coup to install a more “conciliatory figure” for the people of Iraq, I suggest reading Charles Mann’s piece at Mother Jones (first printed in The Atlantic), provocatively titled What If We Never Run Out of Oil?

Apparently, Japan is heavily invested in finding a way to tap Methane Hydrates, hoping that form of energy could do for them what fracking has done for meeting US demand.

It’s an interesting read, and certainly more encouraging than the possibility of Iraq coming apart at the sectarian seams.