Shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, pundits and political leaders raised the alarm that dependence on oil had brought this tragedy to our shores. The editorials and speeches against foreign oil filled every newsstand and podium. Despite all the heat, no light was shed on breaking that dependence.
The fact is, even if we Americans had the discipline and willingness to make the sacrifices required to break ourselves of our billion-dollar-a-day habit, other nations would quickly fill the gap and money would continue to flow to countries and regimes that did not have a great deal of love for America.
This debate is not about foreign oil; it is about all oil. For transportation, we have no option but oil. We have talked about it for decades, but invested little in it. We do provide about $35 billion annually to oil companies in the form of subsidies and tax breaks. Oil remains the only strategic commodity for which we will fight wars. Having spent 26 years in uniform with the attendant education and experience, I feel qualified to speak to the national security implications of our energy insecurity.
Today, almost a decade after the horrendous events of that Tuesday morning, another tragedy is coming to our shores. The disaster brought about by our unquenchable thirst and BP’s ineptness are bringing waves of oil to our shores. The impact of the heartbreaking sight of sea life and beautiful beaches being destroyed should spur in all of us desire to change. In military parlance, the purpose of tactics is to make the other guy run out of options first. We are the other guy and we have run out of options.
If we are serious about reducing our national security risk and the loss of the lives of our sons and daughters, we must be willing to sacrifice. If we want to keep at home the billion dollars a day we send overseas for oil we must pay the price for alternatives. If we want to prevent the next Deepwater Horizon we must eliminate the unquenchable thirst that forces us to suck our SUV life blood out of an ocean floor a mile down. We must hold our political leadership and ourselves accountable. We all know the litany of what must be done. The question is, do Americans still have what it takes to win this Gulf War?
Dan Nolan, Valrico