Crude oil $50 USD a barrel by end 2006?

[Paull]

Originally Posted by sourbastard

They can milk for as long and for as much as they can. I wonder what will happen though when a viable alternative is eventually created. I can see the middle east returning to the dark ages when the money and political clout dries up.

Simple - they will buy out the alternative supplies. Don't forget that it is these Arabs that own a large percentage of some of the worlds most expensive real estate. Somehow I don't see these people going back to the dark ages in any great hurry.

Also, the arabs of the middle east (Ottomans) of the 14th, 15th and 16th century were effectively the world leaders in technology, science, religeon etc. They kind of lost their way over time and with the Holy Crusades run by the Church, that kinda slowed them down as well.

No, I am not an Arab, very much catholic aussie but I am reading a very interesting book on the Arabs called "What went wrong". I too thought that they were always from the Dark Ages but this is actually very far from the truth.

Apologies for hijacking the thread and digressing.

Paul