> One useful point, below, "...these two often-conflated
>accusations -- that the United
>States wants cheap oil and that it wants oil company profits -- are
>mutually contradictory. Oil companies make more money when the price is
>high: The United States cannot want both cheap oil and high prices."
Who said the U.S. wants "cheap" oil? There's an ideal price, somewhere around $20 or a little higher, that balances lots of interests. Lower than that and lots of marginal U.S. wells become too expensive to justify - and oil producing countries start having problems paying their debts. Higher than that and there's risk of recession and/or inflation.
But it's not just about price - it's about supply (flowing freely in normal times, without threat of embargo - with the potential to shut it off should the U.S. want to pressure its allies) and the use of the proceeds (invested in New York and London and not domestic economic development).
Doug