Energy Tribune

Since 1973 and the first Arab oil embargo, the U.S. has been in fear of another embargo. And that fear has been fed a steady diet of hyperbole by American neoconservatives like James Woolsey and others who frequently talk about the need for the U.S. to develop alternative fuels, like ethanol, to decrease its foreign oil dependence.

Woolsey in particular has singled out Saudi Arabia as a key villain, saying that the Saudis’ vast oil reserves give it the “energy equivalent of a nuclear weapon” and that the U.S. should be prepared to “take away that Saudi weapon.”

While the pro-war faction in the U.S. continues to demonize the Arab oil producers, few people dare mention that America’s chief military ally in the Middle East, Israel, is now using the energy weapon more brazenly than any country in recent memory. Proof of that can be found by looking at the aftermath in Gaza and Lebanon. Consider the following:

• On June 28, Israeli aircraft launched at least nine missiles at the transformers at the Gaza City power plant, the only one in Palestine. Two days later, they bombed all four roads leading to the plant so as to prevent any repair work on it. The attacks cut off power to roughly 65 percent of the Gaza Strip and quickly created water shortages. By the way, the 140 megawatt power plant was insured by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, an arm of the U.S. government.
• On July13 and again on July 15, Israeli aircraft bombed the oldest and largest power plant in Lebanon, the 346 megawatt plant at Jiyyeh. Several fuel storage tanks were hit, which resulted in a spill that sent some 10,000 to 15,000 tons (2.8 million to 4.2 million gallons) of heavy fuel oil into the Mediterranean Sea. The oil slick has polluted 150 kilometers of the Lebanese coast and has spread north into Syrian waters. According to the United Nations Environment Program, the spill’s pollution could rival that from the Exxon Valdez, which in 1989 polluted the Alaskan waters in Prince William Sound. Already, more oil has leaked from the Jiyyeh tanks than from the large 1999 Erika oil tanker spillin the Atlantic. Beirut’s Daily Star newspaper calls the Jiyyeh spill “the worst marine crisis to ever hit the east Mediterranean.”
• In early August, Agence France Presse reported that Israel was blocking two fuel tankers from entering Lebanese waters. The tankers were thus prevented from delivering their cargoes to two power stations, one at Biddawi in northern Lebanon and the other in Zouk, just outside of Beirut.

In all, the infrastructure damage in Lebanon may total more than $3.6 billion. But it’s not just the loss of infrastructure that counts, it’s the loss of energy and access to energy. The fight between Israel and its neighbors is not just about land. It’s also about who gets electricity and motor fuel. And for its entire history, Israel has succeeded because it has had plenty of both.

It is axiomatic that as a person’s energy use increases, so does their standard of living. Energy creates wealth. That’s true always, everywhere. And throughout the many wars between Israel and its neighbors, the Israelis have maintained an energy edge. By and large, they are energy rich and their neighbors in Palestine and Lebanon are energy poor. And it appears the Israelis want to keep them that way.

The Israelis have a right to defend themselves – most reasonable people can agree on that. But by bombing the power plants and blockading fuel shipments, Israel has taken warfare to a different level. By bombing the power plants in Lebanon, it is reportedly trying to hurt Hezbollah. By bombing the only power plant in Palestine, it is reportedly trying to hurt Hamas. But in both cases, the Israelis are, in fact, hurting hundreds of thousands of civilians. And by denying them electricity, Israel also, in many cases, is denying them clean drinking water. Just as important, they are denying those civilians the opportunity to create wealth and improve their living standards.

America’s neoconservatives can talk about the energy weapon all they want. They need only open their eyes to see it actually being used.