Plenty of attention has been paid to the amount of oil our country currently imports (70% +). Some pundits have warned that depending on oil from certain foreign sources, such as those with extreme religious or political views, is a national security threat, while others diffuse this suggestion by pointing out that our largest supplier of oil is Canada, which is hardly a threat to national security. For may Americans, this true but totally misleading point is enough to make this a non-issue.
Actually, there are numerous materials in addition to oil that are critical to our country's national security and whose import percentages are alarming. Not being a national security expert, I can't say with certainty that loss of import channels would, or would not, put our country in a tenuous position. However, one doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to know that if we leave ourselves exposed long enough, there will be certain foreign countries that will use critical materials supplies as a political or military wedge.
The numbers are enough of a concern that our newly elected government should closely review the national security implications for certain materials in light of the fact that a major global conflict between nations will likely occur in the future and the U.S. will be drawn directly into it. How would our willingness to defend an ally or help a country in need be influenced if the aggressor is a major supplier to America of steel, aluminum or oil? How vulnerable would our country be if a Muslim dominated OPEC decided to cut off oil supplies or raise the price to unforeseen levels?
While our global economy is highly intertwined and interdependent, we cannot afford to assume that the supply of certain critical materials will never be used as a political or economic weapon. The United States has used economic embargoes in the past as a weapon of political policy and it isn't unreasonable to think that perhaps Russia, Venezuela or even Saudi Arabia could do the same to us in the future.
Let's address oil first, since that particular product has been at the forefront recently. The United States possesses only 3% of the world's proven oil reserves and consumes 25% of all oil produced. The hype about drilling offshore and wherever else we can is purely a ploy to divert the anger that consumers feel about oil prices, even though prices have dropped recently. All the drilling we can muster won't significantly impact the percentage of oil our country produces in relation to other oil rich countries.
It's true that Canada is currently our largest supplier of crude oil at 19%+. Saudi Arabia is second, with Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria not far behind (see Chart 1). The chart indicates the percentage of total oil imports each country represents.
No one should feel safe in the fact, however, that Canada is our number one supplier.
Chart 2 reveals the proven oil reserves of the top five U.S. suppliers. As you can see, Canada has the fourth lowest quantity of proven oil reserves among the five, with Mexico in last place. If you notice who the remaining three suppliers are, you may become a bit more concerned.
Chart 3 shows an even more alarming fact. Does it surprise you that 8 of 10 countries with the largest proven oil reserves are either predominantly Muslim or contain a significant Muslim population? The remaining two are Russia and Venezuela, not exactly friendly towards the U.S. either!
These percentages are especially worrisome if you consider that most radical Muslim groups are funded by oil rich Muslim countries. Also, when it gets to the point that these 10 countries are the largest producers (when Canada and Mexico are out of the picture), which direction do you think the price of oil will take if we are still importing at a rate of 70% or higher?
(For those that may not know, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries "OPEC" is a cartel, which is illegal in the U.S. In a cartel, the members get together and openly talk about price and are free to set prices at whatever level they deem appropriate.)
Forget about Global Warming! The key point here is to realize that our country can't afford to maintain its foreign oil addiction because dependency breeds weakness. We must move quickly to discover alternative energy sources so we can break that dependency.
If we continue the present course, our dependency on foreign oil will increase and Muslim dominated countries will literally have us over a barrel - an oil barrel. And, besides, the more money we send to the Middle East, the more money that's available to fund radical Islamic groups.
Oil is not the only material where foreign dependence is heading in an ominous direction. Critical metals and elements such as steel, aluminum, titanium, and vanadium are heavily imported. These materials are all used by the military in the construction of aircraft, missiles, and other tactical equipment. They are also used, of course, in the construction of domestic products.
The gist of this article is to make people aware that the outsourcing of critical materials to foreign sources is potentially compromising national security. Our country cannot afford to put itself in the position of being held hostage by foreign suppliers on material that is crucial to our operation.
In general commerce, world interaction is a must and will, and should, continue to expand. Suppliers of toys, wrist watches, clothing and other items that don't have a national security impact can continue to flow.
However, if a particular material or manufacturing process could put this country at risk if supplies are cut by a foreign supplier, we should immediately begin taking steps to develop alternative products or technologies that will negate or minimize the need for foreign sources of that material.
President-elect Obama should appoint a task force upon taking office to create a list of foreign-sourced materials and products that are critical to national security, assess what the impact would be if supplies were cut or eliminated and then take appropriate action to increase domestic production or begin development of materials, products or processes that can be developed or implemented domestically, reducing or eliminating our dependence on foreign suppliers.
Our government has allowed too many jobs and critical products/materials to move offshore and it is time to bring the jobs and production of these materials back to America.
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