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Ted Hartley (from UK | September 05, 2005)
This book, the first by Ian Rutledge, gives us a direct and clear insight into America's terrifying drive for oil. Anyone who remains bamboozled by the forces that created the Iraq catastrophe needs to read this book! Read this book!
Addicted to Oil, America’s relentless search for energy security is the product of detailed research into oil and its politics; what has emerged is a very strong argument and analysis and a ‘must read’ for anyone who is anxious about the underlying motives of current US foreign policy.
The book starts with the history of adventures in oil, charts the rise and rise of the industry in general and the motor industry in particular and the political adventures to secure oil and influence since the turn of the 20th century.
Americans are very open about what they say. Many telling comments find themselves on the record, both in business and government, and after that they take on a life of their own.. Ian has used several quotes to head up the various chapters. There is enough in these alone to whet the appetite and propel the reader forward:
Dick (Cheney) gives us a level of access that I doubt anyone else in the oil sector can duplicate… David J Lesar, President of Haliburton, 1998
The most fundamental ( priority) …is to reduce dependence on the Gulf Melvin Conant, US Council on Foreign relations (1982)
The national policy of the United States should aim at securing for American nationals the worlds’ oil resources (Petroleum Industry War Council (1943)
Powerful forces have worked mightily together to shame people into believing that consuming energy is bad, and that Americans should therefore feel guilty about consuming less (Competitive Enterprise Institute, 2001)
I am adamantly opposed to energy conservation – were not running out of oil. All we have to do is go out and find it and produce it (Stephen Moore, Club for Growth, 2002)
The Administration may…want to consider leverage tools that could be brought to bear to assist political leaders in Mexico who advocate that Mexico open its energy sector to foreign investment (James Baker 111, institute for Public Policy and the Council on Foreign relations (April 2001))
The trouble with diversifying outside of the Middle East. ..is that is not where the oil is. One of the best things for our supply security would be to liberate Iraq. (Sarah Emerson, Energy Security Analysis Inc, 2003)
The car is the greatest modern symbol of American freedom…cars are a powerful symbol of what makes America the greatest, and the freest, country in the World (John Bragg Centre for the Moral Defense of Capitalism, 2001)
Iraqi exiles have approached us saying, you can have our oil if we can get back in there. (R.Gerald Bailey, former president, Arabian Gulf Operations, Exxon Corporation, 2002)
Oil is the lifeblood of America’s economy (US Department of Energy, 2001)
And so on...
This selection gives an excellent flavour of the contents and the result is a terrifying insight into this aspect of America’s state of mind. They really do believe in shameless exploitation of energy reserves, in the moral right to take whatever resources from the world that they deem necessary, to intervene in whichever sovereign state stands between them and oil, to fuse together business interest with national interest and government and all this to feed the growing appetites of big cars at any costs.
Ian’s book charts these dark and disturbing forces in detailed, but lively manner. The book is extremely accessible, excellent for teaching and discussion purposes with the full range of learners. It answers many questions and feeds the central one: just why is the UK so tied up in this mess of madness, desperation, economic, political and environmental suicide?
Gaurav Sharma (from London, UK | July 25, 2005)
In the run-up to the second Gulf war and presently in the wake of post war hostilities in Iraq, millions of people remain by and large convinced that it was a war fought for oil despite denials from Bush and Blair governments - two main architects of the event. In his book Addicted to Oil: America's relentless drive for energy security, energy economist Ian Rutledge argues that the invasion of Iraq was indeed for the oil, although not for the reasons usually attributed to this 'oil theory' by its opponents.
In a very provocative analysis, Rutledge explains in Addicted to Oil that the invasion of Iraq was not born out of a straight forward greed for oil reserves in a region of vital importance but had more to do with a perverse necessity arising out of motorised America's heavy dependence on oil. It was an attempt to establish a pliant and dependable oil protectorate in
the Middle East which would underwrite the soaring demand from America's hyper-motorised consumers.
No one argues that motorways made America but the ever growing number of vehicles that plied on them would come to drive US foreign policy down the years and as we know it under present vitiated climate of international relations claims the author. To substantiate his claims, Rutledge takes us back to the early half of the 20th century and traces the origins of America's addiction to Oil. It was the period when America chose to motorise its cities - a decision which was hugely influenced by large automobile and oil companies. Consequently, by the mid 1960s, the core of the US economy was vehicle manufacturing and oil refining, with a growing dependence on oil imports from the Middle East.
Rutledge explains how America's relations with the Middle East were developed and ultimately soured through its quest for energy security. America's motorisation and its consequent demand for oil at predictable market prices was and continues to be an important influence on US policy towards Iraq - especially given the uncertainties relating to what has so far been the securest source of Middle East oil - Saudi Arabia.
The author explains the political, economic and social ramifications of the motorisation of the US economy which compel its political leaders to secure resources of black gold. In chapter five, he goes one step further labelling President George W Bush, Dick Cheney and Condoleeza Rice as the 'Axis of Oil' - three individuals, 'most intimately connected' with US Oil and Energy interests and the commercial objectives of its large companies.
In the latter half of his book, Rutledge assesses the extent to which motorisation permeates almost every aspect of contemporary US society - a society where alternative options to motorisation were deliberately constricted by vested interests in American political and corporate circles. Addicted to Oil is the first book to undertake an in-depth analysis of the motorisation of US society which explicitly links it to America's foreign policy adventures; both past and present.
One cannot ignore the force Ian Rutledge's arguments; whether you agree or disagree. His book is a must-read for an understanding of America's international political priorities and its troubled relations with the Middle East. In the corridors of power on both sides of the pond, Rutledge's analysis is likely to constitute uncomfortable reading but for the rest of us, it is a telling account of what literally 'drives' America and its foreign policy.
Sudhakar Shenoy (from Bangalore, India | June 29, 2005)
The book begins with some good definitions that guide the global oil industry. In terms of "energy grades" oil is a clear winner for powering Large Independent Mobile Machines ( LIMM ). Cars are the most popular LIMMs today and oil drives these machines. The concept of "eminent domain" in terms of the ownership of natural resources of a country establishes the supremacy of the State and the key to Government policies over oil reserves in various countries. The concept of "territorial imperative" links the valuation of shares of oil companies with their untapped proven oil reserves. Since oil is a depleting asset, oil companies should keep moving across our planet's surface in search of new reserves.
The core theme of the book is around the American automobile industry and its linkage with America's foreign policy in its quest to keep feeding the millions of energy hungry vehicles on its roads. The book claims that the public transport system was systematically dismantled in America to aid the growth of the market for cars. Cheap oil was then a necessity to make their running costs affordable. Cars are very closely linked to the American culture and the country has the highest ownership of about 832 cars per thousand population. In per capita terms Americans own more than double the number of cars, use them for double the mileage per year, and own cars that are bigger and consume nearly double the quantity of fuel per mile in comparison with Europe. Things were fine till such time America had plenty of oil in her own land. Suddenly "Hubbert's Peak" becomes a reality and in 1974 America was caught off guard by the oil shock.
What follows is an exciting read on the impact of America's external dependence for her oil . With over 11 million barrels of the daily consumption of 20 million barrels being imported, American oil companies are now driven by the territorial imperative need to find large oil wells outside America. Unfortunately over a quarter of these proven reserves are in "not so friendly" or "politically unstable" countries whose governments exercise the eminent domain over the precious commodity.
The book discusses the following points very convincingly :
- In the desperate search for oil, America is endangering the environment in Alaska
- The present US government is friendly to American oil companies
- Oil companies would like to maximize their wealth through larger control of global oil reserves and simultaneously maintain a higher price for oil
- America's need to diversify its oil imports away from the Persian Gulf
- The Caspian reserves are not so promising as once believed
- The Gulf finally holds the key to global oil supplies and prices
- America's indifference to switch over to more fuel efficient vehicles
- The recent American Invasion of Iraq as a means to create an alternative to Saudi supplies
- Current proven reserves, their global distribution and the likely supply and demand scenarios till 2050
- Scenarios of surge in demand for oil from fast growing countries like China and India
- Need for alternative energy sources
Many of the conclusions are debatable. But the book establishes a clear logic in the linkage between foreign policy and oil.
References mentioned in the notes at the end of the book are very detailed and can be a good list for any researcher on the topic of oil.
Highly recommended.
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