Who Attacked the Saudi Oil Fields and What Should be the Response?

Over the weekend of September 14th, a major oil refining facility in Saudi Arabia was attacked by a series of drone and missile strikes. In a single moment, the world lost 6 percent of its total oil production and on Monday, the global price of a barrel of oil rose 14 percent. Saudi Arabia is the world's second largest producer of oil and is located on the Arabian Peninsula in the heart of the Middle East. Not all Middle Eastern countries are friends and in fact there are long ongoing rivalries amongst several neighbors in the region. The United States has been and remains a key ally to Saudi Arabia. For the last five years, Saudi Arabia has been supporting the Yemen government in their civil war against a rebel group called the Houthis. The Houthis are supported by Iran. Immediately after the attack, most news outlets were suggesting that Iran launched the attack on the oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. Some other stories reported that perhaps the Houthis launched the attacks from Yemen. The Houthis came out publicly and claimed responsibility for the attack. But, due to the sophistication of the weapons used, many believe that Iran itself launched the attack or at least directly gave the Houthis the weapons. If the Houthis launched the attack without Iranian help, it would be viewed as a relatively small regional affair. If the Iranians directly supplied the weapons to the Houthis, the United States would likely support the Saudis in a military response. The final scenario is if the Iranians themselves launched the attack from Iran. If this is the case, it would be a major global event serious enough to prompt the United States to retaliate with military force directly against Iran. Read this article from the New York Times and then post thoughtful comment answers to the following four questions:

1. Based on the evidence from the article, who do you believe was responsible for this dramatic attack on this Saudi Arabia refinery?
2. What should happen next - in other words, who should respond and how?
3. Drones can now be used to take pictures and video, spy on enemies, deliver Amazon packages and create a full scale air war. How do you personally feel about the future of drone technology in the world? 
4. Have you ever been blamed for something that was not your fault/you did not do? If so, what was that experience like and did it change anything for you in the long run?

Blog Grading!

Most blog assignments will occur as a single nightly homework assignment every other week (bi-weekly). Rarely will your blog work require more than one sitting to complete an assignment. The following is a guideline for grading on these nightly homework or classwork blog assignments. Please read this rubric carefully so that you understand what is expected in terms of grading. 

Grading Rubric for Blog posting and commenting:
0 out of 5 (points) – did not post or comment as assigned.

1-3 out of 5 (points) Satisfactory to Good performance: Comment/post ideas expressed are only somewhat clear. The content shows a minimal writing style with a lack of attention to style and details.

4 out of 5 (points) Very Good Performance: Comment/post is stated and characterized with a mostly clear writing style. The content demonstrates that the student read the prompt and attempts to address it completely but only partially references the original article. Also, there may be no comment references another student's comment. Also, 4/5 if a comment is posted after the due date. 

5 out of 5 (points) Excellent Performance: Comment/post is well written and characterized by elements of a strong writing style. The comment / post has addressed the assignment prompt fully and expresses his/her ideas clearly showing originality. The original article is fully referenced and/or you directly refer to another student's comment in your comment.