As if the proxy wars in Iraq and Iran weren’t enough to keep the world worried about rising oil prices, now there’s talk in Washington DC about giving the military a free hand when it comes to “tapping” oil supplies. The House recently passed a bill that authorizes the military to tap into petroleum reserves to help combat any national security threats. In fact, some members of Congress are claiming credit for this legislation. California Democratic Representative Barney Frank (D-CA) was quoted as saying,””I’ve been working on an energy bill that would give the secretary of defense the authority to look at tapping our sources of oil,”. Okay, so, let’s talk about this for second shall we?
Since the Persian Gulf War (ardless of what you think about the Iraq war) and the attendant Gulf Oil Embargo, the United States has become quite dependent on Middle Eastern oil. Our dependence on Mideast oil has also made the dollar weak, which is ironic given all the anger over the Persian Gulf War. In fact, the recent spike in oil prices is directly related to the amount of dollars the United States has lost to the previous two Middle East conflicts. We need to start worrying about the price of oil and how it may affect U.S. economy and politics. A military strategy which allows us to take advantage of the price spikes is not a bad idea at all.
The military must be given a lot of flexibility to make things work in the best possible way and that is what the newest congressional bill hopes to accomplish. It seems rather unfortunate that Members of Congress are putting their personal political interests first above the needs of the American people. The last thing America needs right now is another war and we’ve had enough of that. Besides, if the United States of America is to remain the strongest nation in the world and maintain our global leadership position, we must do everything in our power to rebuild our economy and make certain that we don’t loose our grip on our middle class. A smart economy requires smart politicians and anyone who think they can pull a fast one on the American People just won’t make it in politics.
