Reference: The new gulf war, Bangkok Post Spectrum, September 14, 2008

Nations get rich not by exporting energy but by consuming it. As well, economies that depend on exporting a single exhaustible resource face higher risk, higher cost of capital, and an uncertain future. It is therefore imperative for resource based economies to use their export earnings to develop and diversity their economy instead of holding financial assets of developed countries, a strategy that serves only to provide even more capital and more economic development for the already rich to get even richer. The recent movement in the UAE to move along these lines by investing in infrastructure to develop tourism, real estate, sports, financial services, seaports, airports, airlines, and transportation and communication hubs by using their unique geographical advantage should be seen in this light and applauded. The sneering and deprecating article in the Bangkok Post that pokes fun at these countries for investing their oil revenues at home instead of holding American financial securities (The new gulf war, Bangkok Post Spectrum, September 14, 2008) is self serving and racist and likely derives from a colonialism mentality.

Cha-am Jamal
Thailand