The Organisation of (Arab) Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC)'s move to raise oil prices and to limit output and distribution to the Western world came at a time when there was a rapid growth of demand for oil in the United States due in part to Nixon's anti-inflation policies, and other factors such as new environmental restrictions on coal burning. The US had lowered its import barriers and became more dependent on the world market, …showed first 75 words of 2294 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2294 total…ent day. The background aim was phenomenally successful in terms of propelling OPEC in to the world of political influence, but distressingly unsuccessful in terms of redistribution of wealth for the developing countries, to the extent of intensifying the problem. The title question can not be answered simply, but it can be said that OPEC's political oil weapon was successful in some ways and not in others, depending on criteria for viewing its initial aims.