There have
also been some mentions in postings online:
Michael
Ware, an international correspondent for CNN who was
kidnapped by al Qaeda and lived to tell about it,
brought a different perspective to the day-long
seminar. His security focus for the energy industry
came down to infrastructure. Such infrastructure is
certainly a target of al Qaeda, he said. 'That they
haven't launched such an attack yet just astounds
me,' Ware said. He said 9/11 was 'al Qaeda making a
point, and they made it. Dramatically.' The anarchy
and instability in the Middle East 'suits al Qaeda,'
he said, because it operates in the margins. 'It's no
longer the al Qaeda of old that we need to fear …
it's young Pakistanis who were born in Birmingham who
are blowing themselves up in the London Tube. It's
home-grown' lone wolves acting without any direct
link or coordination from al Qaeda headquarters that
is a cause for fear, he added.
http://www.oilonline.com/News/NewsArticles/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/27305/Flush-with-LNG.aspx
Since US
forces arrived in Iraq in March 2003, Iran has used
the occupation to expand its influence in Iraq.
Michael Ware, CNN international correspondent and
chief primetime foreign correspondent, told
participants at an Australian and American Energy
Conference coordinated by the Australian American
Chamber of Commerce in Houston that by invading Iraq,
America unwittingly removed Iran’s greatest regional
foe. “The power balance of the Middle East has been
shifted by American intervention,” Ware said. “The
physical border that Iraq provided is gone.”
By invading Iraq, Ware said, the US has in effect
gone to war with Iran, explaining that Teheran is
backing many of the warring factions in Iraq. “Behind
every Iraqi face you are dealing with is an Iranian,”
he said. “The depth of Iran’s penetration in Iraq
knows no bounds.”
Recent estimates put Iraq’s oil reserves in the range
of 400 Bbbl. And according to information published
by Douglas-Westwood Ltd., leases awarded in the last
two Iraqi bid rounds contain more than 9 MMb/d in
producible reserves in the next decade – should they
come online. That figure is approximately the same
amount Saudi Arabia is producing today.
Instability in Iraq places those reserves in
jeopardy.
It is not only potential developments that are at
stake according to Ware. “Al Qaeda knows our weak
points – our Achilles heel – are economics and
energy,” he explained. “It is only a matter of time”
until terrorists choose areas critical to energy as
targets.
The upcoming elections in Iraq will be critical, Ware
said. “It is a ‘winner take all’ scenario.” According
to Ware, the elections are so important in the region
that the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, and
Saudi Arabia have backed Sunni factions within Iraq
to oppose those funded and supported by Iran.
“With American withdrawal, America’s ability to
influence the Iraqi government is negligible at
best,” Ware said.
http://www.epmag.com/2010/January/item52363.php