by Walter Onubogu

Created on: March 05, 2009

Yes. The US should pursue energy independence and make it integral to US foreign policy.

We have seen what energy dependence has done and still does to the US. Back in the 1960's, 1970's and until recently the US was very keen on establishing control over vital energy sources such as oil and to that end it was willing to support undemocratic and autocratic regimes in a volatile region like the Middle East ( Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Gulf States and Iraq hold most reserves).

This has come at a great cost, politically-diplomatically, economically and in enviromental terms. With America's industry ever so hungry for oil to produce more and more and domestic consumption increasing this has become a highly unsustainable process with many pitfalls ahead.

In 1973 and 1979 we already witnessed what it meant to be "dependent" on oil and saw the negative geopolitical ramifcations of it. We economically and politically supported the Shah of Iran (Mohammad Reza Palavi) but didn't anticipate that the "emporer of oil ( as Time Magazine at the time dubbed him) was becoming too independent for our own liking. He would use his oil as a leverage point against us to hike up the price 4 fold, and as a result we had the 1st OPEC Crises of 1973/1974 (remember those long queques at gas stations or even rationing of oil). Knowing what we know now, it is clear that this empowered him tremendously while Western producers as well the US government felt tormented and angry and dreaded the possibility of this happening in the future again. Consequently with the knowledge of the Carter and Callaghan admistrations in the US and UK, both CIA and MI6 ( secret services in the US and UK) colluded with big American and international oil companies (i.e. BP, Shell, Chevron, Elf Total, etc) to stirr up trouble and destabilize the Shah regime , thus aiming to overthrow it and replace it with a more controllable friendly government.

This was a huge miscalculation on their part, with disasterous geopolitical consequences. Our "oil dependence" blinded us from the realties. While leading to short term financial gain for US and international oil companies, the 2nd OPEC crises in 1979 proved a turning point. It ultimately helped bring to power a very hostile, anti-Western and anti American clerical islamic regime in Iran under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini. From thereon after Islamic terrorism thrived nicely thanks to such a misguided energy policy. Was our dependence on oil worth damaging Iran (robbing

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