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My Turn
on the
Threat
of
Foreign
Oil
Op-Ed by
Karen
Hudson-Samuels
You
would�ve
had to
been
searching
for
water on
Mars to
miss the
drum
beat of
�our
dependence
on
foreign
oil�
which if
you
didn�t
know
poses a
�security
risk�.
This is
the case
according
to both
our
Republican
and
Democratic
Presidential
nominees.
Even
their
campaign
ads
speak of
�breaking
our
dependence
on
overseas
oil�
with
suggestive,
almost
menacing
shots of
desert
sand
under
the
voice
over.
Are we
supposed
to be
scared?
Is this
worse
that the
3AM
phone
call?
Well
what�s
really
scary is
how
we�re
being
duped,
bamboozled
and
otherwise
mislead
about a
very
real
threat,
the one
being
perpetrated,
on the
truth of
foreign
oil.
Fact of
the
matter
is,
Canada,
yes our
border
neighbor
to the
north,
is where
the
United
States
imports
most of
its oil.
I can it
hear now
�Get out
of
here!�
But it�s
true,
Canada
ranks
number
one for
oil
imports
by
United
States.
According
to the
Energy
Information
Administration,
�the top
sources
of US
crude
oil
imports
for May
2008
were
Canada
(1.840
million
barrels
per
day),
Saudi
Arabia
(1.579
million
barrels
per
day),
Mexico
(1.116
million
barrels
per
day),
Venezuela
(1.030
million
barrels
per
day),
and
Nigeria
(0.851
million
barrels
per
day).�
Now
let�s
see,
Mexico
our
neighbor
to the
South is
most
often
referenced
as a
threat
due to
illegal
immigration,
and
Venezuela
has that
pesky
President
Hugo
Ch�vez
whose
sniffer
detected
sulfur
when he
spoke at
the U.N.
and then
there is
Nigeria,
can�t
think of
a real
security
risk
from
them.
I�m
going to
have �go
Wikipedia�
on you
for a
minute
to drive
home a
few
facts
about
the
creation
of our
foreign
oil
dependency.
The
story of
how
American
oil
companies
became
entangled
with
foreign
oil
producing
nations
reads
like a
Grimm
(pun
intended)
fairy
tale
replete
with the
destruction
of a
powerful
giant,
transformed
into
Seven
Sisters
who rule
a greedy
cartel
that
sucks
underground
oils
from far
away
lands.
As
Wikipedia
tells
the
story:
�The
Seven
Sisters
consisted
of three
companies
formed
by the
break up
by the
U.S.
Government
of
Standard
Oil,
along
with
four
other
major
oil
companies.
Being
well
organized
and able
to
negotiate
as a
cartel,
the
Seven
Sisters
were
able to
have
their
way with
most
Third
World
oil
producers.
It was
only
when the
Arab
states
began to
gain
control
over oil
prices
and
production,
mainly
through
the
formation
of OPEC,
beginning
in 1960
and
really
gaining
power by
the
1970s
that the
Seven
Sisters'
influence
declined.�
So it
was
American
dominance
of
foreign
oil
production
that
fueled
immense
profits
for
companies
who took
take
advantage
of the
increasing
demand
for oil
during
the dawn
of the
industrial
age. All
this
came to
fruition
in the
1930�s
Blame
our
xenophobia
and
blissful
ignorance
for
associating
the
phrase
�dependency
on
foreign
oil�
with
something
evil
that
needs to
be
remedied
and in a
hurry. I
wince
every
time I
hear the
phrase,
especially
the
shameless
usage of
the word
�foreign�
to
illicit
fear of
a
something
strange,
unfamiliar,
and over
there.
When you
parse
word
associations
used in
the
campaign
ads, you
realize
how
slanted
the
messages
can
become.
The
subtext
of
foreign
oil is
Middle
Eastern,
Arab,
which is
one step
from
terrorism
in the
minds of
many.
But
remember
we
import
more oil
from
Canada
that any
other
nation.
When we
label
our
threats
with a
war of
worlds
are we
being
groomed
to take
on some
future
enemy?
Or are
we
blurring
the
reality
of our
diminishing
role as
a global
economic
force
able to
control
trade,
markets
and
access
to
precious
resources?
Have you
heard
any of
the
major US
oil
companies
express
concern
about
our
dependence
on
foreign
oil? Of
course
not. Oil
companies
have
profited
for
years
from
their
close
relationships
with
foreign
oil
producers
and are
not
likely
to
abandon
those
associations
any time
soon.
To be
sure the
risk to
our
environment
from our
reliance
on oil
(foreign
or
domestic)
to fuel
our
economy
is a
real
threat.
And,
drilling
for oil
whether
off
shore or
on land,
even
when
done
responsibly
has
ecological
consequences.
But big
oil
profited
from our
dependency
on
foreign
oil and
we felt
no
threat
to our
security
as long
as we
controlled
the tap.
Karen
Hudson-Samuels
Detroit,
Michigan
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_
imports/current/import.html
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