>Wouldn't oil be far dearer if the USA had not succeeded in
>destroying the populist-secularist-pan-Arabist left in the Middle
>East?
Probably not. As long as we live under capitalism, oil is likely to be traded as a commodity. There will be political attempts to manipulate the price, but I don't think they can be successful for very long. There's too much incentive for sellers to cheat, or operate outside the cartel.
Which is why I thought it didn't make any difference for the oil markets had Iraq's hostile takeover of Kuwait succeeded. It would have made a difference for Kuwaitis, but that's another story.
Doug