Well, purely as an example.. the United States takes about 50% of Nigerian oil.

That’s 1.2 million barrels/day. At $60/barrel. That’s a LOT of money… and a LOT of power.

Well, this post deals directly with the incredible imbalance in oil producing countries between the corrupt government/elite, and the poorest of the poor.

War and invasion and “regime change” simply isn’t the answer. Iraq is proof enough of that, and I don’t want to “experiment” with it anywhere else.

What needs to be done is those governments need to be told to reform, or they simply will not be able to sell their oil.

Here’s something that will make your skin crawl, Jane. Maybe all oil contracts should be vetted by the UN Human Rights Commission. oooo…sccaaary. ;=)

Poking aside, perhaps each country that participates in the oil market as an exporter… or perhaps that reaches an agreed upon threshold of oil exports to any one country, must first insure that that country is well governed and that government royalties go back towards development and enriching the lives of the ordinary citizens of the exporting countries.

If they do not satisfy the requirements, then they have a “cap” on production (say of 20,000 barrels/day to any one country) until their human rights situation improves.

You object most strenuously to the invasion of Iraq where many human rights violations have occurred. What would you suggest that individual nations acting apart from the UN do to improve conditions in Nigeria and other places such as the Sudan? Invasion doesn’t seem to satisfy the call to set things right, does it? Without the UN, how much power does any one or two countries have in changing the economic and political stability (or lack of it) of third world developing nations?