Our third pick draws from some serious intelligence muscle, Leon Panetta, former head of CIA and Secretary of Defense, and Stephen Hadley, former National Security Advisor, co-wrote an OpEd with a bold idea: Offer American energy to our allies and release them from the control of our advisories, alla Russia and Iran.
“Too often foreign-policy debates in America focus on issues such as how much military power should be deployed to the Middle East, whether the U.S. should provide arms to the Ukrainians, or what tougher economic sanctions should be imposed on Iran. Ignored is a powerful, nonlethal tool: America’s abundance of oil and natural gas. The U.S. remains the great arsenal of democracy. It should also be the great arsenal of energy.”
A few little know facts that are worth considering:
“The U.S. has broken free of its dependence on energy from unstable sources. Only 27% of the petroleum consumed here last year was imported, the lowest level in 30 years. Nearly half of those imports came from Canada and Mexico. But our friends and allies, particularly in Europe, do not enjoy the same degree of independence. The moment has come for the U.S. to deploy its oil and gas in support of its security interests around the world.”
and …
“Even now, public perception has yet to catch up to the reality that America has surpassed both Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest producer of liquid petroleum (exceeding 11 million barrels a day). The U.S. became the largest natural gas producer in 2010, and the federal government will now license exports of liquefied natural gas.”
The idea is if our extras go to our allies, then Russia’s power to push or threaten cutting them off is seriously weakened.
“Most ominous is Russia’s energy stranglehold on Europe. Fourteen NATO countries buy 15% or more of their oil from Russia, with several countries in Eastern and Central Europe exceeding 50%. Russia is the sole or predominant source of natural gas for several European countries including Finland, Slovakia, Bulgaria and the Baltic states. Europe as a whole relies on Russia for more than a quarter of its natural gas.”
While we love the idea, and we’re sure the economic impact here at home would be good, we always have to ask…
When a spy says, “trust me,” you should probably consider your other options. We’re waiting to see what the critics say. Obviously this would be a power play, and that’s ok, but is there anything else to the story, we mean beside the ramifications of crippling Russia’s largest export industry… What about the environmental impact?
