Strategic Lessons on Energy: A Historical Perspective Applied to America's Oil Source Issues

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Energy is arguably the greatest national security issue for the United States. By late 2007, oil broke the $100 a barrel mark - climate change is being blamed on ever increasing levels of energy usage - resulting in the inevitable conclusion that American national security strategy is being affected by long-term energy considerations.3 Energy was a major section of the President's State of the Union speech in January 2007 and he outlined a proposal to reduce gasoline usage 20% in the next 10 years (Twenty in Ten).4 This position was reemphasized in the 2008 State of the Union. According to the U.S. Department of Energy Annual Energy Outlook for 2008, oil prices are high enough to trigger the initiation of alternative energy processes in the $30-60 range (2006 dollars) - these include oil sands, ultra-heavy oils, gas-to-liquids, and coal-to-liquids (CTL).