Iran and World

Oil is not just any commodity. It is a strategic commodity. Our military can’t move without it. Our economy can’t function without it. Regimes that have large amounts of oil lying under the lands they rule enjoy unearned wealth and power. Some — Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia — use that wealth and power in pursuit of nefarious goals.

A panel of top-ranking retired admirals and generals has taken a hard look at these connections and released a report entitled “Powering America’s Defense: Energy and the Risks to National Security.” In it, they warn that dependence on oil poses a significant national-security threat — one that is “exploitable by those who wish to do us harm.”

Issued by the Military Advisory Board of the CNA (a nonprofit organization that operates the Center for Naval Analyses and the Institute for Public Research), the report concludes that “diversifying our energy sources and moving away from fossil fuels where possible is critical to our future energy security.”

↓ Keep reading this article ↓

Tanner: The Obamacare to Come

Murray: I’m All Right, Barack

Weigel: Parsing the Vatican Newspaper