Iran's Navy chief on Wednesday warned that his country can close the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf where a sixth of the world's oil supply travels to. Within the last few days, it was the second such warning. Iranian Vice President Mohamed Reza Rahimi threatened to close the strait, cutting off oil exports, if the West imposes sanctions on Iran's oil shipments. With the concern of a drop in Iranian oil supplies, a senior Saudi official stated Gulf Arab nations are ready to offset any loss of Iranian crude. That reassurance led to a drop in world oil prices. Adm. Habibollah Sayyari told state-run Press TV "Closing the Strait of Hormuz is very easy for Iranian naval forces." "Iran has comprehensive control over the strategic waterway."
The U.S. Congress has passed a bill banning dealings with the Iran Central Bank and President Obama stated he would sign it despite its misgivings. Critics warned it could impose hardships on U.S. allies and drive up oil prices. The bill could impose penalties on foreign firms that conduct business with Iran's Central Bank. European and Asians import Iranian oil and use its central bank for the transactions. Iran is the world's fourth largest oil producer, with an output of about four million barrels of oil a day. It relies on public exports for 80% of its public revenues.
Within the last six years, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been threatening to obtain uranium to build nuclear weapons. Ahamdinejad stated that he desired to see Israel wiped off the face of the map. With Iraq being unstable since the last vestiges of U.S. troops having just left recently, the Shiites in Iraq could merge with the Shiites in Iran which could produce a stronger Iran that could become an even more dangerous presence in the Middle East and around the world. Texas Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul stated that sanctions against Iran are "acts" of war. That's not true. Sanctions are actions taken against a country by another country or groups of countries to influence a particular policy over another country. Sanctions should be imposed on Iran to keep them in check. Sanctions should be used as a means to inform rogue countries that if they get out of line, sanctions will be imposed to put them back in their place. If we don't keep a check on Iran, they could be a major nuclear threat.
Let me tell you what the U.S. needs to do in response to Iran threatening to close the strategic Hormuz Oil route. First of all, we need to be determined as a country that we won't be dependent on oil from the Middle East. The United States has an abundance of resources. There's no excuse for us to be dependent upon the Middle East for our oil supplies. The United States needs to marginalize the Middle East so they can be irrelevant to our energy needs. We don't want to be dependent upon the Middle East for anything given how unstable that region of the world is. The Middle East is a hotbed for terrorism. There's always violence that takes place. Islam is the religion of the Middle East. Islam believes in killing the infidel. Many of our politicians in the U.S. make mention they would like to see democracy take root in the Middle East. Democracy won't take root in a country where it's religion is Islam. None of the Middle Eastern countries dominated by Islam are democratic. Also democracy leads to mob rule, which in turn will lead to a dictator being elected to take control of that particular country. So what's the benefit of democracy in the Middle East when the people know nothing about the concept of freedom?
Another point I need to make mention is we need to stay out of the affairs of the Middle East as much as possible. Even Iran as much as possible. I know that type of thinking wouldn't fit well with Republican candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, for example. However, the United States shouldn't involve themselves in the Middle East unless it's absolutely in the national interests of our country and the Western hemisphere. I do believe there's a possibility the U.S. might have to involve itself in a military conflict with Iran in the near future. If we do strike Iran, we need to strike down their nuclear capacity and depose their dictator Ahmadinejad. We don't need to involve ourselves in a bloody battle like we did with Iraq and Afghanistan. We don't need to involve ourselves in nation building in the hopes of bringing democracy to Iran. That will never happen. If we go to war there it's for the purpose for removing a threat that could be perilous to the security interests of our world. We don't go to war with Iran so we can occupy that country for ten years. I know Santorum and Gingrich would call me isolationist, but you don't go to war with other countries unless it's absolutely necessary and if Congress declares war then there needs to be an agenda carried out by our military. Once that agenda is completed, the United States needs to exit Iran as quick as possible. We don't need to maintain a long-term presence in Iran.
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