Part 7 of the excellent documentary series based on Daniel Yergin’s book “The Prize: Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power”.
This episode i found the most interesting as it focused on the numerous wars that occurred in the Middle East from 1967 to 1991 and the politics behind them. The Arab nations angry at the colonial ways of the British and unfair deals of the oil companies finally managed to gain independence and start setting the agenda to the world through the (in theory) unified front of OPEC. However when the west withdrew the ego’s of the Arab countries leaders addicted to oil revenues and power plagued the people of these countries, just like it always has.
I believe that the wealth derived from oil resources of each country should be controlled by the nation for the good of the it’s people and not by outside forces. In theory i have a huge objection to the US involvement in the area backed up by it’s many permanent military bases located in Kuwait, Iraq and Afganistan however is it actually a better thing for everybody in practice?
This one is a must watch if you want to get an overview on who controls the oil reserves of today. Who has control of the Mid Eastern oil when peak oil really takes effect will have a big influence on what countries have oil to use in the future. Oil geopolitics is going to get a lot more desperate…