Energy as National Security Policy: Where is the Senate?

It is old news that the Arab countries hedging their participation in the coalition by blaming American support for Israel are dishonest. All of those countries face internal opposition that makes their participation dangerous to the continuation of their dictatorial regimes, and their choices are driven by their desire to maintain themselves in power.

We have no sympathy for the position in which they find themselves.

It is old news that the Arab countries hedging their participation in the coalition by blaming American support for Israel are dishonest. All of those countries face internal opposition that makes their participation dangerous to the continuation of their dictatorial regimes, and their choices are driven by their desire to maintain themselves in power.

We have no sympathy for the position in which they find themselves. They are hoist on their own petard, as the saying goes.

At the same time, Americas Middle East policy is largely driven by the worlds energy requirements and the fact that we have the lions share of responsibility for defending the free flow of black stuff from the Persian Gulf region on behalf of a lot of other countries. We are somewhat more sympathetic to that position; we like heating our houses and driving our cars. But since oil is fungible, and money is fungible, it is worth considering what happens to the money when we, or anyone else, buy oil from the Middle East.

In the year 2000, the United States paid Saudi Arabia about $15 billion for oil and Iraq an estimated $5 billion through the UN Oil for Food (or Oil-for-Non conventional-Weapons) Program. Experts believe 50% of Iran’s government budget comes from oil sales, though not to us. Syria and Libya are exporters (Syria to a small, but significant, degree). All of the oil exporting countries support terrorists and their organizations (money,training bases, visas, weapons, etc.) with funds supplied by the US and other oil importing countries. Oil revenues are, in fact, the chief source of funding for Middle East-based terrorist groups, whether as government policy to support terrorism (Iran, Iraq, Syria and Libya) or as bribes to try to ensure domestic tranquility (Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States).

The Presidents order to halt funds to terrorist groups would be aided considerably if the oil exporting countries had less money with which to work. Lets help them have less.

Diversification of energy sources is essential to this war and our long term security interests. We need increased exploration within the US including in ANWR as well as alternative energy sources, increased nuclear energy,consideration of a hemispheric energy system, and increased energy efficiency. The Senate should be debating the Administrations energy proposals and helping to create a domestic energy policy that defines the limiting of Middle East oil imports as a matter of national security.

Which leads us to ask: Where is the Senate?

The Democratic leadership has refused to bring the Presidents energy bill to the floor because drilling in Alaska will pass over the leaderships objections, as it should. JINSA is not a lobby, and we don’t normally stick our noses into legislative machinations. But in this case, the Senate leadership is, for purely partisan reasons, ducking an issue of national security and undermining the conduct of the war and American foreign policy. We object.