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November 22, 2008 8:33:15 CST

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Make Lawsuits, Not War, Over OPEC Oil

Posted Jun 19, 08 5:23 PM CDT in World,  US,  Business,  Opinion,  Crime & Courts 

(Newser) – There’s no question OPEC’s price-fixing is illegal under American law, a former Reagan and Bush I adviser writes in the New York Times—so why not sue the oil cartel? US states are permitted to seek relief against aliens, and a joint suit by several attorneys general would point the way. “Isn’t starting a lawsuit better than starting a war?” Thomas Evans asks.

There remain a host of separation-of-powers issues, but if the court deemed the OPEC problem an executive prerogative, the president could rightfully permit the suit to go forward. At the very least, legal pressure would draw national and global attention to the cartel’s “destructive behavior”—and maybe even force a settlement with more market-based pricing.

Source New York Times

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In this March 21, 2008, file photo, a Saudi man fills his tank at a gas station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.   (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)
A motorist gasses up at a Chevron station in Portland, Ore., Friday, June 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
Abdalla Salem El-Badri, OPEC Secretary General, answers questions during a news conference in Quito, Thursday, May 22, 2008.   (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Calling OPEC "the illegal cartel that has driven the price of oil over $130 per barrel," a former White House adviser suggests lawsuits to bring costs down.   (AP Photo)
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