Israel Matzav

Obama expecting war?

This is not a parody. President Obama has issued an executive order placing all United States resources under his control in the event of a national emergency (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

PART II - PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATIONS

Sec. 201. Priorities and Allocations Authorities. (a) The authority of the President conferred by section 101 of the Act, 50 U.S.C. App. 2071, to require acceptance and priority performance of contracts or orders (other than contracts of employment) to promote the national defense over performance of any other contracts or orders, and to allocate materials, services, and facilities as deemed necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense, is delegated to the following agency heads:

(1) the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to food resources, food resource facilities, livestock resources, veterinary resources, plant health resources, and the domestic distribution of farm equipment and commercial fertilizer;

(2) the Secretary of Energy with respect to all forms of energy;

(3) the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to health resources;

(4) the Secretary of Transportation with respect to all forms of civil transportation;

(5) the Secretary of Defense with respect to water resources; and

(6) the Secretary of Commerce with respect to all other materials, services, and facilities, including construction materials.

(b) The Secretary of each agency delegated authority under subsection (a) of this section (resource departments) shall plan for and issue regulations to prioritize and allocate resources and establish standards and procedures by which the authority shall be used to promote the national defense, under both emergency and non-emergency conditions. Each Secretary shall authorize the heads of other agencies, as appropriate, to place priority ratings on contracts and orders for materials, services, and facilities needed in support of programs approved under section 202 of this order.

(c) Each resource department shall act, as necessary and appropriate, upon requests for special priorities assistance, as defined by section 801(l) of this order, in a time frame consistent with the urgency of the need at hand. In situations where there are competing program requirements for limited resources, the resource department shall consult with the Secretary who made the required determination under section 202 of this order. Such Secretary shall coordinate with and identify for the resource department which program requirements to prioritize on the basis of operational urgency. In situations involving more than one Secretary making such a required determination under section 202 of this order, the Secretaries shall coordinate with and identify for the resource department which program requirements should receive priority on the basis of operational urgency.

(d) If agreement cannot be reached between two such Secretaries, then the issue shall be referred to the President through the Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

(e) The Secretary of each resource department, when necessary, shall make the finding required under section 101(b) of the Act, 50 U.S.C. App. 2071(b). This finding shall be submitted for the President's approval through the Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. Upon such approval, the Secretary of the resource department that made the finding may use the authority of section 101(a) of the Act, 50 U.S.C. App. 2071(a), to control the general distribution of any material (including applicable services) in the civilian market.

Read the whole thing.

The Examiner speculates that Obama is doing this because he anticipates a war.

The economy of the United States is based on the free flow of resources, energy, and the rights of consumers to buy and sell as they see fit. Any interference in this economic process quickly leads to shortages, rising prices, and civil unrest. The purpose of President Obama signing this new Executive Order is yet unclear, however, it may coincide with information coming out of Israel yesterday that plans for a tactical or strategic strike on Iran are accelerating. Oil prices in Europe rose over $3 a barrel for Brent crude after the Israeli actions, and US oil prices rose $2 for WTI.

Well, if that's why the oil markets reacted and why Obama took his action, that's way overblown. First, as far as I know, Zero Hedge (which wrote the story linked in the quoted material) is not located in Israel and may not know better than anyone else what is going on here.

Second, he makes it sound like a vote was taken (which is not surprising given that he's neither an English nor a Hebrew speaker - if you click on his link to Maariv, you will discover that a German speaker translated a Hebrew article into English). But it wasn't (link to original Hebrew article). There is the eight-member inner cabinet, a 14-member security cabinet, and the much larger full cabinet - which has 30 members. If there is a strike, it's the eight-member cabinet that is likely to decide, not the 14-member cabinet. No vote has been taken. What did happen was that Netanyahu said he wouldn't ask permission from Obama. He's been saying that all along.

So why did Obama take this action? There are a lot of things Obama would like to do that require him to control United States resources. One of my readers has been sending me a lot of material lately about how the President is shutting down 'old fashioned' power production facilities in order to force Americans to use cleantech energy (and how an Israeli company or two are benefiting from it). Imagine if the President could just declare an emergency and gain control over US energy resources. That's the sort of thing I believe he's after. 'That maniac Netanyahu' is just an excuse.

Maybe Obama wants to raise oil prices so high that cleantech becomes more economically sensible.

Or maybe Obama believes we're all headed for war.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Iranian nuclear threat, Israeli attack on Iran

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:43 PM