Iran keeps ratcheting up the stakes

From Reuters we hear how Iran needs 20 nuclear fuel processing plants to supply its peaceful nuclear power program.

The stakes in this international poker game are huge. Not only does this impact stability in the middle east, it impacts Israel, and it impacts the global oil supply-demand balance.

And the United States is as buck naked here as a new born baby. As a powerful, independent nation state, we have consistently violated one of the requirements of nations states: to secure supplies of strategic materials necessary to maintaining independence. We import over 80% of our oil. Most of that comes from the middle east. Thus, we are subject to unwise foreign relationships and we are subject to blackmail of the most serious kind. Simply because we have not been able to articulate and implement a long range strategic energy policy despite 40 years of fair warning that these days were coming upon us.

One day we are going to resolve to do better, or, one day we are going to suffer terribly as a consequence of our intransigence.