The Saudis Realize They're Cutting Their Own Throats

According to this article from MarketWatch:

"At a four-day conference of Arab energy ministers in Amman, Jordan, Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi predicted that oil prices could slide if an economic crisis pushes industrialized nations to develop alternative energy sources."

At least one of the oil-producing nations of the Middle East now realizes that their short-term price-gouging is going to have a negative long-term impact on oil's role in the world economy.

I, for one, was hoping they wouldn't catch on until we were well on the way to developing an All-American alternative energy source, making Middle Eastern oil, and Middle Eastern countries, irrelevant in world affairs.

We can only hope that none of the other oil ministers listen to Mr. Ali al-Naimi.