Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum...

Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum | Michael T. Klare | The Book you all must read to understand this oil mess.

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Blood and Oil: The...

	Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum Michael T. Klare Holt Paperbacks, 2005 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 32 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Energy security is national security

Michael Klare doesn't agree with S. Huntington that contemporary conflicts are rooted in civilization differences. For him, they are struggles for scarce and valuable materials: arable land, water, timber, commodities and, most notably, oil.
Relatively inexpensive petroleum lays at the heart and is the engine of the world economy: the transportation (and indirectly tourism), textile, pharmaceutical and agro-business industries.

Oil is a key factor in national defense; e.g. it secured the Allied victory in World War II.
Control of world oil is essential for 'full spectrum domination' (W. Engdahl) and for preventing the rise of a new rival in world affairs.

Unfortunately, oil is becoming rapidly a scarce product. Nevertheless, the policies of the Bush II administration are based on increased oil consumption and on an expansion of the US oil economy!! More unstable and unfriendly supplies, together with rising competition, will be needed to slake the US thirst of cheap oil.
Actually, the main sources of cheap oil are situated in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian region. The author points his finger at the Iraq invasion: the US forces seized immediately the Oil Ministry in Baghdad, while allowing the looting of everything else in the city.
But, for M. Klare, control of the Persian Gulf and other oil regions (+ transportation and refining) constitutes a formidable challenge and will need vast amounts of money to finance the US military presence in all those regions, and that at a huge moral cost and increasing sacrifice of US blood. In the medium, and certainly in the long, term this policy is unsustainable.

The author proposes different partial solutions for the 'oil problem': a surtax on gasoline consumption, development of mass transport and alternative energy sources, fuel efficiency. In the actual context, these propositions are more or less wishful thinking. A complete change of mind will only arrive when the oil price will reach astronomical heights and when all cheap oil sources will be dried up.

This book contains very valuable historical material about the dawning of the oil industry and the crucial negotiations with oil suppliers.
It is an essential read for all those interested in world affairs.

I also recommend William Engdahl's 'A century of War' and the works of Chalmers Johnson.

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The Book you all must read to understand this oil mess.

I read this book while I was on vacation and it really open my eyes on all this News about oil. I understood for the first time, our relationship with the Middle East and how it became our blood for their oil. The mess in Iran , the the lip service our goverment has been giving us about establishing an energy policy and the same time, cozying up with the Oil CEo's and playing games with our future. There is so much more information about how this black Gold is controling us and will control us for decades unless something is done. I not too hopeful but at least I understand the situation better.
This book is a must for anyone who see themselves as a thoughtful and educated person and wants to understand this mess.

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Lowered My Blood Pressure

This is an informative, reasonable book that attacks neither the Left or the Right. It gives context to the entire foreign policy that we've inherited.

"I have seen the enemy and it is us." My conclusion---for now---is that Americans, while opposed in principle to shedding blood for oil, would probably not give up their energy-gobbling lifestyles to prevent the situation. Even if they were individually inclined, as am I, it doesn't change the fact that most of us live in suburbs and must commute to work. Or how our food is produced, etc.

It's an unfortunate situation that seems fated to spill blood. USA uses 25% of the world's energy, imports over half, is only 5% of the population. Its policy that getting energy for the country is a matter of national security. But some or all of the biggest oil producers don't like the USA that much.

How many voters would vote for a platform calling for drastic changes in lifestyle, redesigning a way of life, sacrifice, sacrifice, pay massive money for alternate-energy development, give up the mini-vans, SUVs, travel, etc.? It would be political suicide.

Sigh . . .

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Surprise of an eye opener from an elective course in college

I had to purchase this book for my "Introduction to International Relations" class at University of Washington. It was pure elective and I had no clue what I was getting into. I actually enjoyed this book! I was surprised to read many of the facts that Klare goes in depth on regarding America's policy on obtaining oil and the threat of increasing competition from developing nations. The book is loaded with facts and numbers to back everything up, don't let that detract you from reading this, it's an eye opener and a thinker about how our attitudes towards oil need to be less narrow minded.

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reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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