When the words "seizing" and "major cities" (plural) are used in the same sentence, you know shit is going downhill. If they want the use of the drones, then they need to pay for that stuff in oil at full price.

We tried that shit of "liberating" them so we could have a more solid ally in the ME, it all turned to shit for a number of reasons. Infighting in Iraq, a more formidable enemy military than expected, inept political leadership and I am afraid to some degree some over-aggressiveness on the part of invasion troops with too many incidents of pissing off the local population and providing the only thing they could unite on - uniting against us.

I say ramp up oil production in the Dakotas. Now an interesting thing, to see if it is possible to work harder on our social and political spectrum to exercise more influence in American oil production states.

Continental politics here is the Northeastern Seaboard could largely go back to functioning on a train system, but it would take them years to rebuild that infrastructure, except they could do it. Parts of the west could, but only the urban areas and only with what they would consider pretty painful development. The inland west and central states though, all run on petroleum. Trucks and road, no other way. You can't get reliable frequent rail service into all of those small towns and support the kind of society we have and keep the rail lines operational. Too much cargo needs to run by truck.

What is saved in all of that stuff is if America re-tools for manufacturing vehicles and equipment for the world market, we benefit from more or less open market competition because we don't have to move either the oil or the raw materials across vast oceans to make stuff - that stuff can be made in volume in much closer proximity to the natural resources.