An event occurred this week that received little fanfare in the print and television media that made all the uproar over the Ten Commandments, Gitmo, Durbin, Hillary, Dean, Rove et al, ad nauseam pale in comparison.
The National Commission on Energy Policy conducted a simulation of a confluence of events that resulted in the removal of 3.5 million barrels a day of supply from the global market demand of 83 million barrels. The scenario consisted of three unrelated events occurring over a few months, civil unrest in Nigeria, a terrorist attack on the Port of Valdez, Alaska and the evacuation of foreign nationals from Saudi Arabia.
*The projected chaos in the global oil markets produced the following forecasts of potential economic and political disruption as a result:
• Gasoline prices of $5.74 per gallon;
• Global oil price of $161 per barrel;
• Heating oil prices of $5.14 per gallon;
• Fall of gross domestic product for two consecutive quarters;
• Drop in consumer confidence by 30 percent;
• Spike in the consumer price index to 12.6 percent;
• Ballooning of the current accounts deficit to $1.087 trillion;
• Decline of 28 percent in the S&P 500;
• Aggressive pressure on the U.S. from China to end arm sales to Taiwan, and;
• Demands from Saudi Arabia for changes to U.S. policy regarding the Mid-East peace process.
The co-chairs of the “Oil ShockWave event” were Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Ct). This is not some exercise by an out of touch think tank or dooms day religious cult ruminating on the end of the world. The people involved in this are a bipartisan group of everyday real world pragmatists who view the energy dependence of the United States as a critical flaw in our over all national security. Included in the panel were two former CIA directors as well as a former member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former high ranking members of the departments of State, Energy, Environment and Economy.
It is time for the people of our country to wake up to the fact that the soft underbelly of the United States and her allies is oil. With exception of the sheer audacity of 9/11, the movement against us to date has been fractured and unsophisticated in attempting to alter our world standing and our policies by haphazard bombings and other acts of terror.
Will the tactics soon shift? Have they in fact already done so? Read the following quote from a 1998 PBS interview with Osama Bin Laden if you have any doubts that efforts will be made to exploit any weakness in American resolve. “We believe that the worst thieves in the world today and the worst terrorists are the Americans. Nothing could stop you except perhaps retaliation in kind. We do not have to differentiate between military and civilians.”
The ultimate war to protect America is not going to be fought on foreign soil or with guns or planes. It is going to be fought by every consumer in the country. It is time to make oil a weapon of our own. Discovery of more supply, stringent conservation efforts, alternative and renewable energy methods and any other potential sources must be exploited in this battle. Our national security depends on it.
Source: EnergyCommission.org
