Economic Weapon: "Oil to Hit $200 if Iran Attacked"

I woke up this morning to the fantastically eye-catching lead headline in the Arab News:  ‘Oil to Hit $200 if Iran Attacked’.  Below it, a sub-headline reads “King Rejects Using Oil as a Weapon.”  The obvious disconnect between those two statements did not apparently dawn upon the kind editors of my morning newspaper, but drew me in to read more.

I discovered that they were, in fact, both accurate headlines.  I worry, however, that the press in the Western World will pay substantial heed to the threats delivered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and ignore the words of moderation, restraint, and stability from Saudi’s King Abdulla.  Great headlines are produced by the former, but my hope is that the latter prevails.

That said, if I were in the shoes of Chavez or Ahmadinejad, however, I would be aspiring to make sure a few more headlines like the one that appeared this morning reach the White House.

Tags: U.S. Economy