Blair: We did not send troops into the Middle East to take possession of oil fields [or] to take over the oil. But we sent them there in large numbers because of the oil-based importance of that region to the world economy and therefore to the U.S. economy and the stability and security of that region was important to us from a national security point of view. Had we not been so dependent on the Middle East in that sense, we would have treated the troubles there the way we do in other parts of the world where theyre going through turmoil, where theres suffering going on, where there may be a combination of interests and opportunities. But this huge investment in military force there was caused by the oil-importance of that region, so I agree completely that energy security for this country — more flexibility in terms of our energy picture — would make a huge difference in terms of the position of the United States in the world.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 02:17:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015