Energy Independence In The Middle East

The energy crisis is nothing new. For too long America has put off and ignored a critically relevant and ever-growing problem; a problem that is at the heart of ongoing issues, which include the condition of our environment, the downturn of our economy, and the state of our national security. For the past thirty-five years, promises have ben made, plans have failed, and the problem still remains. Said President Richard Nixon, in his State of the Union Address in January of 1974. “Let this be our national goal: At the end of this decade, in the year 1980, the United States will not be dependent on any other country for the energy we need to provide our jobs, to heat our homes, and to keep our transportation moving.” Something needs to be done. America needs to turn to a new, healthier and more efficient source of energy.

Oil has often been referred to as any economy’s lifeblood. Although this is an overemphasis, oil has been the key, nonhuman resource of the economy throughout the largest part of the 20th century. In the book “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, And Power” by Daniel Yergin, the author illustrates the political, societal, economic, and geo-strategic importance of this product.

The Middle East is one of the birthplaces of human kind’s civilization. Since the Ancient Egypt, Sumer, the Arab Empire, Turkey Empire, or even to present day, the Middle East has always been a valuable strategic point for not only because of its geographic location but also it full of petroleum and nature gas. According the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) that 66% of the global oil reserves are in the Middle East and only 6% in North America, this makes a lot of powerful countries want to share a pieces of the Middle East, Stephen mentions “Much of the world 's oil wealth exists along the Persian Gulf, with particularly large reserves in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait

Our dependence on foreign oil and natural gas has created a vulnerability affecting our national security and economic stability. Up until this past decade there was an appreciable decline in our oil and natural gas production in the US and we were tied to world market price fluctuations. Oil prices and natural gas prices rose and fell based on OPEC’s and other large oil and natural gas producers’ production and pricing decisions. Beginning in 2005, things began to change in the US oil and natural gas industry. New technology called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” made it possible to extract oil and natural gas from geological

It is easy to point out that prior to 1979 the US government should have done more to avoid such a heavy reliance on foreign oil. Fiscal policy, for years, was not properly structured to enable energy independence. During the Carter years, policies regarding energy use reduction primarily involved lowering the legal highway speed limit and by encouraging people to use less energy to cool and heat their buildings. Carter’s proposals for a broader energy program were constantly rejected by Congress.

During the time before September 11th occurred, many people believed that our government was looking for a reason to go to war in the middle east, specifically with Iraq. We believed that the “people of Iraq are an oppressed people, and the world has a duty to help these people” (Kelly). However, after going through the Vietnam war, our citizens did not want to enter into another war and send more soldiers away from home. We were currently having our best years financially in our country and were involved in zero wars. But, looking for ways to have better finances always comes into play when making any decision, within the government or citizens. The oil reserves in the middle east were very “important to the world's economy” (Kelly). By

It is time for the US to prove its real intention which is fighting against terrorism. However, we cannot bomb or attack the supporters of the ISIS in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Iraq are the countries that we buy our oils. (globalpost, 2010) We cannot risk the explosion of oil reserves. If we cannot buy our oils from Middle East, we have to increase the prices, which will result in opposition from the society and decrease the Presidents

Since the oil embargo of 1977, there has been an increased awareness of our nation's energy security. As global population and energy consumption rise, the need for a stable energy supply has become a hot topic and a politically volatile issue. As our negative trade balance grows larger by the day, the United States finds itself in a rather precarious position. We are becoming more and more dependent on Middle East oil.

America in the 1970s was an exercise in crisis management. The decade of disaster began when the country was blindsided by the 1973 energy crisis and ended with another energy crisis in 1979. Both events were the result of America’s dependence on foreign oil, particularly on exports from the politically unstable Middle East. Relying on such a risky source for an essential commodity placed the United States in an insecure position. In 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries proclaimed an oil embargo in retaliation to the United States’ involvement in assisting the Israeli military. This raised fears about “the nations of OPEC uniting to blackmail the energy-dependent nations into…paying exorbitant prices for oil and natural

“National Security Consequences of United States Oil Dependence” is an article created by an Independent Task Force which emphasizes how in the future the United States can experience severe consequences from using an abundant amount of oil. "For the United States, with 4.6 percent of the world's population using 25 percent of the world's oil, the transition would be especially disruptive" (Task Force 212). The transition they describe is to an economy that relies less on petroleum. This dependence on oil could possibly result in the United States to suffer with economic, and social downfall as the entire country depends on the oil we obtain. One alternative to this oil dependency is to explore all American territory for oil, which involves

Energy is more than a utility that keeps the lights on in our homes or the gas in our cars; it’s a foundational resource that plays a key role in a nation’s ability to provided economic opportunity and basic services and security to its people. As such, it is imperative to a nation’s overall security that it develops/acquires access to energy, ensures energy needs are properly met and supplies are readily available, and disruptions minimized. Policy directs that the U.S. has a role in developing energy security throughout the world. For the U.S., we’ve long recognized the importance of energy security and have gone to great lengths to ensure its protection by developing depth and breadth in energy capabilities,

The Unites States and The People’s Republic of China have been ever growing superpowers on the world scene since the last century. Their economies, military and social policies have been models and adapted by other nations on Earth and their present day influences in these same criteria seem to have no end. The driving force behind China’s industrialization and the United State’s global influence are one in the same; Energy. Both these nations have been fortunate enough through their geological locations to be able to find and harvest different sources of energy to propel their governments, economies, militaries, ect and with the help of harvesting the ingenuity of their respective populations to drive the discovery of more efficient and productive technologies in aspects of economics, home life and energy. This essay will go on to illustrate what energy sources either nations use and why they use them, what sources of energy they are trying to further develop and what sources of energy they import as well as export. Finally, We will touch upon the energy relationship between the US and China and compare this relationship through one or more international relations theories.

Another country like Saudi Arabia with vast amounts of oil is Iraq. However Iraq is not just about the oil. It is also about water ways and geopolitics. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flows through Iraq. Giving Iraq the majority of control of the water resource. Iraq’s location is also desirable to the United States. It borders Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey. It also has a coast line of the Persian gulf. Their location is also missile sticking distance to Israel and the USSR. Controlling Iraq gives the United States the ability in “controlling” the Middle East. However the United States was not able to coerced Iraq into being a pawn. Saddam Hussein refused the proposals of the economic hit-man. For Saddam Hussein, this was the begin of his demise.

According the United States Energy Information Service, over the past 5 years, the shale “revolution” in the United States has contributed to the fact that the United States has almost twice reduced their oil imports, making the country less dependent on imports from the OPEC countries. Subsequently, this change has greatly influenced the terms of the relationship between the two countries. Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia has long promoted the idea of the Middle East a free zone of nuclear weapons, its leaders doubt that the conclusion of the recent agreement, limiting Tehran's nuclear program, will actually prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power

Despite the shift in adversaries, the interests in the Persian Gulf have not shifted since our previous involvement. Currently, the United States military strategy in the Persian Gulf is shaped around three key interests: democracy promotion, peace and stability, and securing an open international economic system. These three interests seek to protect United States’ national security and can be achieved through diplomatic measures.