How To Break The Chokehold Oil Has On Our National Security -- Stephen A. Cheney, Aol Defense
Oil is a global commodity--it is easy and cheap to ship it around the world. That means that the security of its distribution network is just as important as the security of its supply. This distribution network--including port terminals, huge oil supertankers, and lengthy pipelines--is vast and costly. It is also vulnerable to conflict, piracy and terrorism.
About one fifth of America's oil imports come from the Persian Gulf, passing through the Strait of Hormuz as it is shipped to our shores. Over 15 million barrels of oil per day pass through the Strait, a 21 mile-wide body of water vulnerable to Iranian anti-ship missiles. Iran has repeated its threats to close the Strait and is well positioned to carry out attacks on oil tankers in transit. The very threat of closing the Strait of Hormuz to shipping is enough to give the Iranian regime more leverage in the region than they are due.
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My Comment: Reducing oil consumption sounds great in theory .... but .... not easy to implement. Bottom line .... we are going to be dependent on oil for a very long time, and we can only hope that as alternative energies are found and developed, it will be enough to minimize our dependency on oil supplies and the security issues that it raises.
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