The perception that there's trouble in the Middle East drives oil prices higher.

Consumption is up considerably and that trend is not going to reverse itself. Higher oil prices are going to be with us for quite a while, and while I do think it will moderate from the current levels it is definitely going to have an impact, both on consumer spending and on the economy as a whole.

The global importance of the Middle East is that it keeps the Far East and the Near East from encroaching on each other.

TSG is competing with Middle East, East Asia and Europe in offering prices that are either lower or at par with these markets.

International oil prices have shifted to a higher level permanently.

It took from 1967 to 2003—over three decades—to build the big men. It took a decade—2003 to 2013—to destroy them. I suspect a new generation of big men will return. No people can tolerate chaos forever. Dictators will offer a way out and many of the exhausted and brutalized people of the Middle East will accept them, and I suspect Washington will as well.