Another Feith-Based Foreign Policy Idea? The "United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act"

[CorpGovActivist]

"To authorize funding for eligible joint ventures between United States and Israeli businesses and academic persons, to establish the International Energy Advisory Board, and for other purposes."

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"There is established in the Department of Energy an International Energy Advisory Board."

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=%22international+energy+advisory+board%22

Personally, I think the idea of forming a non-governmental organization of energy-consuming nations - as a counterweight to OPEC - is a marvelous idea. But it seems to me that that organization ought to have at least as many members as OPEC (rather than just 2), and it should be an NGO (not residing within our Department of Energy).

This bill was introduced in the last Congress as HR 2730: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/multicongress/multicongress.html

The "academic persons" language is undefined, but would probably be deemed to include Doug Feith's current position at Georgetown University (where he was not exactly received with a warm welcome): http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=douglas+feith+georgetown

I understand the need for bilateral cooperation and agreements with our allies, including Israel. But the "optics" of this legislation - establishing a board that advises on doling out grants to entities that must include Israel citizens/entities - must look skewed to others with whom we would like to live in peace.

A truly "international" body would be informed by the history of solar science. Progression from worship to scientific understanding has been a truly international affair, and continues into the present: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun

Who's to say that the next Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, or Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar isn't on the cusp of a breakthrough in learning a simple way to harness the solar constant - delivering energy independence to all nations? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_constant#Solar_constant

And who's to say that that modern-day scientific observer - out of all the billions of people with firsthand familiarity with the sun - resides in one of those two countries?

Any school child can replicate Sir Isaac Newton's prism experiment; once demonstrated, it literally became child's play. Setting only two seats at the table of this "international" body practically begs the non-aligned nations to form a larger, more inclusive body - where the next "child's play" scientific breakthrough could transform the global economy and petropolitik.

- Dave