Africa: Oil Wars Are Coming to Africa

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Nairobi — One of the major debates in the Western media over the past couple of months has had to do with oil. Oil and the illegal US-led war against Iraq. Oil and the US-led "democratic" offensive in the Mashreq. Oil and Russia's oil and natural gas reserves -this year's Group of Eight summit, which Russia will host, will feature energy security as its primary agenda item.

Oil is not a renewable resource. There is contention about the point at which oil will run out. But oil consumption rates and demand continue to rise. The rate of new oil discoveries continues to drop. These facts would be true whether or not China had become, as it now has, the world's second largest oil importer after the United States. The way in which China's demand for oil is framed in the Western media - in breathy, suspense-filled undertones - thus smacks of racist double standards. Either all states that consume too much oil do something to address their disproportionate share or none will.

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