Katrina+ the World Oil Crunch. ----------------------------
American troops are already helping to defend the flow of petroleum in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Ar*b Emirates, the Republic of Georgia, Colombia and offshore areas of West Africa, producing an enormous strain on the Pentagon's finances and capabilities. In addition, plans are being made to establish new US bases in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, two promising producers, and in the oil- producing regions of Africa. (See Klare, "Imperial Reach," April 25, 2005.) Given the need for even more foreign oil, these plans are likely to be accelerated in the months ahead. This means that the United States will become even more deeply embroiled in foreign oil wars, with an attendant increase in terrorist violence.
Hurricane Katrina has many distressing domestic consequences, and these should rightfully command our attention and compassion. But we must not lose sight of its foreign policy implications, as these are sure to spark new crises and disasters. We must not allow the White House to exploit our current energy woes to justify the further militarization of America's petroleum dependency, with all that entails. Along with other critical measures, we should use this time of reflection and reconstruction to fashion a new national energy policy, based above all on conservation and the rapid development of petroleum alternatives.
Katrina and the Coming World Oil Crunch by Michael T. Klare
