FUEL FOR THE FIRE

The WSJ described the incident over Syrian air space today as follows:

The Turkish government said its military shot down a Russian jet fighter along the Syrian border on Tuesday, in an escalation of tensions between Moscow and a key North Atlantic Treaty Organization member in the chaotic Middle East civil war.

A while back we pointed out when discussing weak energy prices that the globe was an unsafe place. And getting more unsafe by the day.That was before the Paris tragedy. You can talk about OPEC quotas, rig counts, oil-laden tankers languishing off the Caribbean coast and such all you want, but crude oil is still--as much as its sanctimonious critics deplore the black stuff--a critical part of the global equation.

The current incident, as many hope, will come and go without further problems. But the powder is there. And with an administration that now wants to put U.S. special forces at harm's door, the plot can ramp up even further. And no one knows just who or just what situation holds the match.

There's a couple of key points in that opening paragraph: "escalation of tensions between Moscow and a key North Atlantic Treaty Organization member and the chaotic Middle East civil war." There is two distinct implications there: chaotic and choosing up sides.

Televison talking heads and other self-appointed gurus are likely, like this clueless administration, well behind the curve on this one. Temporary situation or otherwise, don't exit your long oil holdings just yet. In fact, on any further weakness add to them.