Americans are frustrated with our constant involvement in the internal politics of foreign nations.  In the Middle East, we have fought three wars and engaged in several other military actions over the past few decades.  Some Americans don’t see our involvement as important to our national interest, but it is.  Our interests in the region have been slowly increasing and will continue to grow as the years pass, forcing us to remain deeply embroiled in Middle Eastern politics.  Our own irresponsible energy policies have forced the United States into this difficult position.

Cynics have complained for a long time that we are only involved in places like Iraq and Libya because of oil.  They are right.  The sad truth is that if we didn’t import oil from these countries, we would see little reason to be involved in their political processes or find the need to become involved militarily. 

Although every President since Nixon has talked about becoming independent of foreign oil, none of them have been willing to do what is necessary to achieve it.

U.S. oil production has been declining for twenty-five years even as demand is rising.  According to the Dept. of Energy, domestic oil production has fallen from 8.9 million barrels/day in 1985 to 5.4 million barrels/day in 2009.  Our economy runs on petroleum products, from gasoline to plastics.  In order to keep our economy running smoothly, we have had to replace lost production by importing more.

Due to the drop in domestic oil production, we now import over two-thirds of our oil.  Some comes from allies like Canada and Mexico (about 31% of imports).  Some comes from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia, and Brazil.  With such great dependency, the U.S. is put at a strategic disadvantage.  We are forced to choose between economic stability and our ideals.  The U.S. supports oppressive regimes in Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia through foreign aid.  In several cases, we have intervened militarily not to protect ourselves, but to protect these allies in the region.

To many Arabs we are the enemy because of our support of brutal, oppressive, secular regimes.  Terrorist groups have seized upon this perception to help promote their radical ideology and their plan to overthrow oppressive dictatorships with new Islamic caliphates, free of Western influence.

The solution is so obvious it can be summed up in the simple Palin slogan “drill baby, drill.”  If the U.S. produces more of its own oil it doesn’t need to import as much.  If it doesn’t need to import as much oil, it can be more selective as to who it buys from.  The U.S. could buy from close allies such as Canada and Mexico.  The U.S. could also disentangle itself from the troubled Middle East.

Unfortunately politicians declined to follow responsible policy and instead implemented a series of gimmicks.  They promoted raising fuel economy standards for vehicles, subsidizing electric cars, and promoting alternative fuels.  In general, their solution was to lower demand through government regulations.  None of these measures have worked to decrease the demand for oil.  They are ineffective and costly interventions in the energy industry.

Government intervention in energy can be traced to 1977 with the establishment of the Dept. of Energy.  Its purpose was to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  It is a perfect example of expanded government power and unnecessary intervention failing…for 33 years. 

If we were truly independent of foreign oil, we would care as much about the violence Libya as we do of the violence in the Congo.  How many journalists and interest groups scream about the violence in the Congo, Zimbabwe, or Myanmar?  None of these conflicts involve U.S. interests so there is little pressure to become involved.

Our energy policies over the past few decades have been an abysmal failure.  It is a failure of shortsighted political decisions and unnecessary government intervention.  These failing policies must be terminated if we are to make any progress. 

The U.S. must dramatically increase domestic oil production.  This can be done through opening up more coastal areas to offshore drilling.  Currently 85% of the coast is off limits.  The U.S. must also streamline and accelerate the permit process for petroleum companies to gain access to land and offshore areas.  Companies require a permit from the Dept. of the Interior in order to explore for oil.  However, the Department has slowed the issuance of permits to a halt in the last two years.

Unfortunately, President Obama has been hostile to domestic oil production.  His administration issued an illegal offshore drilling moratorium, paralyzed the permit process, and allowed the EPA to declare carbon emissions a pollutant, thereby allowing it to regulate it.  This would give the EPA unprecedented power over the production and use of fossil fuels.

President Obama’s comments in Brazil were especially troublesome.  He offered Brazil support in expanding oil drilling and promised the U.S. would be its best customer.  In other words, he was promoting greater dependence on foreign oil.

Strategically and economically it makes no sense to increase dependence on foreign oil or freeze domestic production – yet that is exactly what the administration is doing.  His efforts have not stabilized gas prices and have definitely not allowed the U.S. to disengage from military interventions.  In fact, the U.S. recently initiated military operations in yet another oil-producing nation, Libya.

If Americans truly want to change course, it is time they admit the obvious.  Feel good “green” energy programs, fuel economy standards, and solar power subsidies will not get us off fossil fuels anytime soon.  It is very likely we will be consuming millions of barrels of oil per day for the next few decades.  Therefore, we must take advantage of our own natural resources and “drill baby, drill.”  Americans must embrace this fact, or look forward to another few decades of deep U.S. involvement in the Middle East and high gas prices.

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