Historical Op-Ed

US-Iranian Standoff at the Straight of Hormuz

The US should not back down from the standoff at the Straight of Hormuz with Iran or we will be

subject to the control of Iran in the oil industry.

For a long time now the US has been very addicted to the oil industry and we get our fix from the

middle eastern countries. The country we like to get our oil from in the middle east is Saudi

Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a country conveniently has access to water through the Strait of Hormuz.

Currently, the US is at a standoff with Iran, this is because the US-backed out of the Nuclear Deal.

And in an attempt for control “The Netherlands is studying a U.S. request to provide military

backing in the Straight of Hormuz to protect commercial shipping in the key passage. ” This is 1

best understood through history.

First, energy has always been a source of political power in all countries around the world.

For

example, China was defined by who could harness water as a source of energy and they would

gain power. Here is how a Chinese emperor was found, “…’ Mandate from Heaven’… Water

control was a key test of this mandate.” This means that if you control water you control the 2

country and gain political power.

The reason oil is so powerful politically is because of what it brings with it, and it brings a lot of

money to whoever controls the oil. This means that if you can stop the flow of oil you can stop

disrupt the flow of money.

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This is the same reason coal miners would strike because it would hurt

a business in the wallet where it hurt. But it can end in not so great ways like at Ludlow, “The coal

companies called for the National Guard to intervene, no doubt expecting the guardsmen to break

the strike,…” The miners had enough power to get the government involved in business and they 3

had to be broken up. Iran can also disrupt the flow of energy in the form of oil.

But this leaves one question why the Straight of Hormuz, and why is the straight important? The

answer is in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has access to the Indian Ocean through the Straight of

Hormuz which is next to Iran. Now it started after World War two when “ Saudi Arabs signed a

concession…covering roughly 320,000 sq. mi” This is why oil must travel through the Straight of 4

Hormuz and to the Indian Ocean.

If the US backs down from the Straight of Hormuz then we will be reliant on giving and helping

them to let oil out to the US. Much like China, whoever controls energy controls others and others

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must obey because of there reliance on that energy. But if we do not back down it can end up like

Ludlow with men dying, but Iran, unlike those miners, will back down over time because of our

sanctions. We need to control our energy and if we let Iran intimidate us then we will forfeit our

freedom for appeasement.

Bibliography

JONES, CALEB and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER. "The Latest: Dutch FM Says US Requests Aid in

Hormuz Straight." ?AP English Language News (Includes AP 50 State Report), ? Jul 15, 2019.

?.

Steven Soloman, Water: the epic struggle for wealth, power and civilization (New York: Harper,

2010), 102.

Caleb Crain. “ There was Blood the Ludlow massacre revisited,” The New Yorker, January 11,

2009, ?

Standard Oil of California, “Saudi Arabia: Desert Venture,” 1948, 27:47, YouTube, accessed

September 4, 2019.