Where I Stand — Hank Greenspun: Dependence on oil is hurting U.S. interests

Friday, April 27, 2001 | 10:27 a.m.

Note to readers: Sun founder Hank Greenspun's last Where I Stand column was written in 1989, the year he passed away. In the following weeks Classic Sun will feature columns written by Hank that still relate to today's headlines. In a column written on Dec. 23, 1973, Hank addresses the fuel and energy crisis that gripped the nation:

The nation's dependence upon oil, which was consumed in enormous quantities in the U.S. en route to becoming the most heavily industrialized nation on Earth, has become a mote in the nation's eye.

We have become somewhat dim-sighted as to the need for so much gasoline and other allied products simply because of the extravagant use we put it to.

The action of the oil-producing nations of the Middle East in declaring an embargo upon shipment to the United States in reprisal for support of Israel has triggered a panic reaction causing us to lose sight of national interest in that area.

The panic has also obscured some vital domestic front facts as well, including a fear in tourist-oriented economies like Las Vegas, which has brought much glee to the oil companies who point with bland faces at the "other fellow" when responsibility for the energy crisis is assessed.

If ever a crisis suddenly developed without justifiable basis, it is the supposed shortage of oil products in the United States.

Long before the Arab-Israel War in October of this year, the major oil producers were screaming about shortages until they succeeded in driving the bulk of the independent operators out of business. Suddenly gasoline came into plentiful supply when competition was reduced and the stranglehold upon consumers of petroleum products was intensified.

The latest $1-a-barrel increase is just one of the many major price concessions won and which appear to be totally ridiculous in the face of enormous profits all have enjoyed for the past 18 months.

For years the major companies have concentrated upon exploitation of overseas oil fields in their haste to squeeze every penny of profit from those holdings in the face of an increasing Arab trend toward nationalization of the oil fields.

All foreign interests were slowly being squeezed out by the Middle East nations after receiving billions of dollars in economic assistance to drill the wells and build the vast refineries and pipelines to carry the oil.

There now is much pressure being applied to the U.S. policy makers to kneel to political blackmail imposed by the oil producing nations.

We are being urged to abandon traditional friendship with our only loyal ally in that part of the world and persuade Israel to make territorial concessions to the Arab countries, which could jeopardize its very existence.

Military defeat for Israel does not mean a mere setback from which it can recover, which has been the course of most nations in the world. It means total extinction and the end to dreams for a homeland for the most harassed and hounded people in the history of civilization.

What the American people should know is that security for Israel is tied in with our own national security and is inseparable.

If the Suez Canal is opened, Soviet access to the Persian Gulf would be greatly facilitated, with the Reds gaining a powerful strategic advantage over the U.S. Fleet.

The importance of access to the Suez and the proximity of Persian Gulf oil resources was emphasized early in a report for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Prof. Charles Issawi warned, "The Soviets' interest in Middle East oil goes far beyond the economic, since they cannot help but recognize it as the Achilles' heel of Western Europe. The dream of turning off the oil faucet and freezing Europe into submission must surely be one of the most persistent in the Kremlin."

Earlier this week, Adm. Worth Bagley, commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe and the Middle East, said the reopening of the Suez Canal would increase vastly the Soviet capabilities in the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and the North Pacific.

He noted that Soviet ships must now sail 9,000 miles from Vladivostok or 11,000 miles from the Black Sea to get to the Indian Ocean or the Persian Gulf area.

With the canal open the distance would be cut to 2,000 miles, eliminating the trip around Africa.

The oil embargo is serious but if all we ever received from the Middle East is about 6-8 percent of our needs, surely we've already cut over 15 percent with all the belt tightening and elimination of waste.

The urgency to develop new energy sources is essential but now that the oil companies have the price up more to their liking, the extreme crisis will soon pass.

And a sure way to solve the oil crisis is to back Israel all the way and all the oil fields would soon be in her hands for free nation use.

Looks like a better solution than turning it all over to the Communists.