Encouraging energy R&D, substituting solar, wind, and safe nuclear energy for fossil fuels is a big plus for safeguarding the global environment. But it is also a vital step in fighting terrorism. For many decades, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC as the international cartel is commonly known, successfully regulated world oil supplies and thereby the price of a barrel of oil on the international market. By doing so it filled the national treasuries of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela and nine her nations across the globe, giving them an outsized role on the stage of world affairs, where their interests often did not align with ours.
Such policy conflicts have been a prime motivation behind the bipartisan goal of making America energy independent. But even if U.S. policymakers succeeded, oil-producing nations such as Saudi Arabia and Iran would retain their clout so long as the rest of the world continued to feed at the petroleum trough. Weaning the entire world off oil is the only answer.
President Obama has accused Saudi Arabia of aiding terrorism by using its oil money to finance madrassas around the globe, which preach the ultra-conservative brand of Islam known as Wahhabism embraced by Islamic terrorist groups, such as ISIS, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram. And the entire world recognizes that Iran has used its oil money to foment sm across the Middle East.
Cutting off the stream of petrodollars that fund terrorism should be a prime objective of U.S. energy policy. Investing in energy R&D and making oil a commodity of the past should be a high, bi-partisan priority for Congress and the White House.
Full article published in The Hill on May 11, 2016
“Weaning the entire world off oil is the only answer.” That is a wild exaggeration. Indeed, it may not even be an answer. There are many nations — and non-nation… Read more »
There is no question we have enemies around the globe who sponsor terrorism, but North Korea is not one of them. It is an enemy, but not a sponsor of… Read more »
First, North Korea has been on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. It was removed as part of a deal related to its nuclear facilities. Hillary Clinton said that… Read more »
There is extensive documentary evidence of the Saudi role in supporting madrassas that provide the basis for Al Qaeda and ISIS philosophy and the accompanying terrorism. The White House certainly… Read more »
Yes, we should stop financing enemies; but “Substituting solar, wind and safe nuclear energy for fossil fuels” won’t do it. In the US, we use petroleum mainly for transportation. Solar,… Read more »
Quite true, but if we transition to electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids, both of which are already happening, we will need electricity capacity. In the near-term, biofuels can certainly play… Read more »
But a very important near-term answer. And mid-term. Vehicles being bought today will be on the roads and using fuel for many years to come. Even my 2002 Ford Focus… Read more »
More information on the non-renewable-carbon fuel tax idea: http://advancedbiofuelsusa.info/its-time-for-a-non-renewable-carbon-user-fee-for-fuels-press-release/ and http://advancedbiofuelsusa.info/its-time-for-a-non-renewable-carbon-user-fee-for-fuels/
AND, we could use that recirculating renewable-based money to afford to transition house-by-house, business-by-business to renewables, not only for immediate use, but to develop energy storage systems that don’t rely… Read more »
I would still argue that the link between renewable electricity expansion and terrorism is limited…oil is really the only thing that matters. Even a transition to EVs could be powered… Read more »
Terrorism would likely dramatically increase in the Middle East if countries’ economies collapsed because of lack of demand for their oil exports. ISIS, Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations would… Read more »
Yes, Henry. Impoverishing and destabilizing these countries would only make security problems worse.
See my commentary on Lewis’s argument.
It’s true that fossil fuels leads to terrorism, but the more direct link is through climate change. Syria had a 4-year drought — one of the worst in its history… Read more »
A study by University of Miami scientists showed indeed that droughts in the Middle East have been associated with the “downfall of empires” — over a span of 5000 years:… Read more »
Lewis: There were wild fires long before humans walked the Earth, but that does not mean that humans cannot cause wild fires. Similarly, the fact that there were major droughts… Read more »
Dan, quite right. But it does disprove the suggestion that current drought must be caused by AGW. Also, “…not caused primarily by climate change” reflects the common political distortion of… Read more »
Ah! An AGW denier! Rather than divert this thread into a discussion of the validity of AGW, I’ll simply say that the vast majority of climate scientists say you are… Read more »
I agree with the idea of substituting renewable energy in place of petroleum. I do not support adding nuclear power and the entire nuclear fuel cycle which has its own… Read more »
The tactical use of terrorism has a long history. Even in the modern use of the term, it goes back to the late 19th century. That was obviously long before… Read more »
Mr. Perleman is wrong when he says that terrorism and oil dependence are not intertwined. As a Johnny come-lately to this good discussion I would like to add a piece… Read more »