Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [210]
The Samson Option: This term, inspired by the biblical figure of Samson, was created by Israeli leaders in the 1960s to describe their strategy of massive nuclear retaliation against nations threatening the existence of Israel through a military attack. While it was designed as a strategy of last resort, it gives Israel enormous deterrent leverage against would-be attackers. No nation has attempted a direct attack against Israel since 1973, and one can assume that the Samson Option and Israel’s capability and willingness to carry it out is well known by potential adversaries. Author Seymour M. Hersh provides a fascinating account of the development of Israel’s nuclear power in his book, The Samson Option: Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy (Vintage, 1991).
Israeli oil discoveries: Recent discoveries of huge offshore natural gas fields ninety kilometers west of Haifa may go into production as early as 2013. Other offshore gas and oil sites also look promising: an estimated oil reserve of as much as 1.5 billion barrels may exist in the Rosh HaAyin area east of Tel Aviv. Such finds will reduce Israel’s energy dependence, and some even see Israel as a net energy exporter in the future.
Chapter 47:
Domestic rationing: The idea of domestic rationing is not new to the United States. It was used extensively and successfully in World War II and controlled such items as gasoline, fuel oils, tires, cars, sugar, coffee, meats, and other commodities. Rationing stamps were issued according to needs tied to the war effort. Rationing also inspired massive recycling programs to support the war effort. (Recycled aluminum cans meant more ammunition for soldiers.)
Some have suggested that rationing today would be all but impossible, and indeed it would be without a clear political will to set it in motion. However, faced with a crisis of Pearl Harbor proportions, Americans are capable of extraordinary things. From purely a transactional standpoint, newer technologies such as stored value cards would make rationing infinitely less cumbersome than the ration stamps used in WWII. Rationing is indeed doable and likely to occur in some form as world demand for oil and other resources exceeds the supply available. De facto rationing exists now in the form of higher prices at the pump for gasoline.
Chapter 48:
Co-operative models: Almost thirty thousand cooperatives now exist in the United States. Owned and operated by their members, cooperatives provide goods and services that meet the specialized needs of its members, often items not readily available elsewhere at the price, place, time, or quantity desired. In most areas they are locally owned and highly responsive to the member/owners they serve.
The utility of oil: In addition to being superb energy sources, oil and natural gas are critical components in the manufacture of goods and services. Among other things, they are used for lubricants, fertilizers, herbicides, plastics, paints, solvents, antihistamines, and literally thousands of other products and services. Any price increases or shortages in the supply of oil and natural gas will have a significant across-the-board multiplier effect on the prices of goods and services in which they are a basic component.
Chapter 50:
The perfect storm metaphor and the lethal trajectories of that storm’s components are highlighted in this chapter. Because of the metaphor’s critical importance, I will explain further some of its highlights in this section:
The perfect storm