Military Thinktank Urges US to Cut Oil Use

Air Force, Army, Defense, Federal Agency/Executive Branch, Marines, Navy, Opinions, Policy, R & D Focus

November 2, 2011

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Suzanne Goldenberg (The Guardian) Report from Military Advisory Board says US must reduce energy imports over the next decade as a national security imperative

In its report, the Military Advisory Board said the US should aim to drastically reduce its energy imports over the next decade – or else risk exposing the economy to devastating oil price shocks.

“This is a national security threat that grows ever year, and we as a nation need to recognise is at such,” said vice admiral Dennis McGinn, a former deputy chief of naval operations, and one of the authors of the report.

“This isn’t just about the volatility of gas prices at the pump. This isn’t just about big oils vs the environment. This is a national security problem, manifesting itself economically, diplomatically and militarily, and it is not just going to go away.”

The report, entitled Ensuring America’s Freedom of Movement: a National Security Imperative to Reduce America’s Oil Dependence, describes America’s reliance on imported oil as the “Achilles heel of our national security”.

It deploys strong language to describe the consequences of this dependence. “Our reliance on this single commodity makes us vulnerable … We are held hostage to price fixing by a cartel that includes actors who would do our nation harm, and we are too often called upon to risk the lives of our sons and daughters to protect fragile oil supplies form this very cartel,” the report says.

…But the move away from conventional fuels is a harder sell among civilians, particularly in the current political climate, McGinn acknowledged. Still, he said he was hopeful that the recommendations would gain some traction. “We are going to do something about this as a nation. There is no other way,” he said. “It’s just a question of whether we do it proactively or find ourselves somewhere down the road facing disruptions because of a closure of petroleum supplies. It’s just a question of how much pain do we need to go through as nation before we really get it and fix this in a long-term way.” READ MORE and MORE (CNA)

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