Summary of a discussion with: Jim Woolsey

Conference on World Affairs
University of Colorado at Boulder

By Jacob Gelt Dekker
Boulder, Colorado 10 April 2006

J. Woolsey Former Director of the CIA



The war we are in is long term, at least as long as the Cold War and that was 45 years. A Al-Qaeda and their Saudi Arabian brothers, the Wahabi, pledged to kill all Shiites, Jews and homosexuals. Shiites also want to kill Jews and homosexuals, work for a total apocalyptic clash with the Western/ Christian world and prepare the world for the second coming of the Mahdi who disappeared in a hole somewhere in the 8th century.

We, Americans and the Western World, are paying for their terrorism. Terrorism is a well thought out tactic, not an ism, a state we arrived at. The Saudis donate annually 3-4 billion dollars to the Wahabis to set up madrasses in Pakistan and Afghanistan where little boys are trained to become suicide bombers.

Our unquenchable thirst for fossil fuels is to blame.

Only 2-3 % of oil produced goes toward the production of electricity; about 30% is consumed by industry and 66% by transportation. Alternative energy, solar, wind, etc. would hardly affect our thirst for oil, since most of it goes to transportation.

Of all transportation 97% is powered by oil. The United States consumes 3 million barrels per day, about half of the entire world production.

The United States imports 250 billion dollars of oil per year out of a total of 800 billion dollars of imports. The money for oil import is equal to the shortage of the balance of trade. The shortage is financed with paper, mostly T-bills. Of the 250 billion per year, Saudi Arabia receives 160 billion dollars from which it pays 3-4 billion per year to finance the hate politics of the Wahabis.

Many things can happen in the short future. A few likely scenarios:
1.   The oil producing countries no longer accept out T-bills or our dollars. 

2.   The debt build-up of the non-solvent poor Third World countries bankrupts them. 

3.   The Iranian radicals in power at the moment in Teheran stop production. They themselves need little if they revert back to a total theocracy along the lines of the 8th century. Hassan Abassi, the main Iranian political strategy advisor to the present government is a strong proponent of this idea. Note: Ayatollah Khomeini did not want to deal with the present political group in power, since he believed them to be too radical.

4.   An attack on Al Quke, like Al Qaeda tried to do last February, would take 8 million barrels per day out of production and drive the price per barrel up to US$ 200. Note: Saudi oil is rich in sulfur that has to be filtered out. That is why 8 million barrels per day go through Al Quke. An attack could easily paralyze the Western world.

Solutions:
1.   Hydrogen fuel cells or natural gas. Studies show that it is not a ready technology. Implementation will take at least another 20 years. We do not have the luxury of 20 years.

2.   Feed stocks: Ethanol can easily be produced from grain and corn. Grain and corn production do have some production problems therefore switch grass is easier, since it is already available at little or no cost. Fungi and micro organisms can easily transform switch grass to cellulose from which sugar en ethanol can be produced. If subsidies on rice were cancelled, and we would pay a normal non subsidies price to our rice farmers, massive amounts would become available for ethanol production as well. All relevant studies can be found @ www.energycommission.org

3.   The introduction of flexible fuel vehicles would increase fuel efficiency to 45 miles/gallon. Note: since the 70's we have decreased from 26 miles per gallon to 24 m/g for new vehicles. All the smarts of new fuel economy technology went into larger, heavier and bigger cars. This strategy was stimulated by the present government with a tax break on trucks and RV's.

4.   Diesel fuel produced from animal waste of the beef and slaughter industry would bring efficiency to 145 miles/ gallon.

5.   Plug-in hybrids with large batteries to produce enough electricity for at least 25 miles would increase efficiency to 500 m/g. Cheap electricity at night would recharge batteries.

6. Car bodies made out of carbon-composites would reduce the weight to ½ or 1/3 as is already the case with Formula 1 race cars. That could result in fuel efficiency of 1000 miles/gallon.

If these six available technologies, which can be introduced immediately, function as a portfolio, meaning one will perform more that the other, then the total efficiency could still easily result in 200-500 miles / gallon.

Brazil was able to implement ethanol from cane sugar for all its transportation within two years. Next year already, Brazil will be totally independent from the import of fossil fuels.

America could do it within one or two years working together with Detroit and instead of exporting billions of dollars to the Wahabis, we would create more wealth in our own country with the farmers. The oil weapon is our strongest weapon in dealing with terrorism.

The Wahabis will frown on it, but we can smile . . . all the way to the bank