Blood and Oil, The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Petroleum Dependency - Michael T Klare

Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt, New York, 2004

Michael Klare has written an interesting and very relevant book, dealing as it does with the politics of oil, US foreign policy, the Middle East and the causes of terrorism.  He writes with a clear purpose and that is to argue that America’s “securitization” of oil and its willingness to use military force in order to secure its supplies of oil been a major mistake.  His main argument is that ever since the meeting on the Suez Canal in February 1945 between Ibn Saud, King of Saudi Arabia, and President Roosevelt, that America has supported despotic regimes in the Middle East in exchange for guarantees of oil supply, and that this is a deal which undermines American commitment to and support for democracy and freedom.  Furthermore Klare believes that unless American policies change dramatically, there is likely to be an increase in conflict over oil, as countries such as China, which is dependent on imported oil (like the US), attempt to secure their own oil supplies.  Oil is a finite resource, which will be in increasingly short supply over the next few years, and production may now be near its "peak."  In short he believes that America must act now to move to a post-oil age economy, taking exceptional measures to reduce the use of petroleum by motor vehicles and to introduce alternative fuels. 

In 2001 Klare concluded “that petroleum is unique among the world’s resources – that it has more potential than any of the others to provoke major crises and conflicts in the years ahead.”  He said, “..my most crucial findings had to do with the centrality of cheap and abundant petroleum to the vigour and growth of the American economy and to the preservation of a distinctly American way of life.” Klare believes that if America does not reduce its dependency on imported oil it will have to increase its military presence in the Middle East, stationing permanent garrisons in countries like Iraq and facing the need take further measures to support the Saudi Arabian regime and possible action in central Asian countries like Kazakhstan.  He says that “four key trends will dominate the future of American energy behaviour: an increasing need for imported oil, a pronounced shift toward unstable and unfriendly suppliers in dangerous parts of the world; a greater risk of anti-American or civil violence, and rising competition for what will likely prove a diminishing supply pool.” 

He believes that the US military budget will therefore have to increase if the current policies remain in place, and claims that, “the American military is being used more and more for the protection of overseas oil fields and the supply routes that connect them to the United States and its allies.  Such endeavours, once largely confined to the Gulf area, are now being extended to unstable oil regions in other parts of the world.  Slowly but surely, the U.S. military is being converted into a global oil-protection service.”  Klare is also concerned about the effects of US policies on the reputation of America in the Middle East, he quotes Kenneth M Pollack’s article in Foreign Affairs (“Securing the Gulf” Foreign Affairs, 82, no 4 -July-August 2003) in which Pollack said, “Terrorism and internal instability in the Persian Gulf are ultimately fuelled by the political, economic, and social stagnation of the local Arab states,” which the local people see as being maintained in power by the US.

In considering the threat of possible conflict over the oil reserves of the Persian Gulf and Central Asia, with China and Russia, Klare considers China’s current need to secure its future oil supplies to support its rapid economic growth and Russian sensitivity to US influence and military bases in Central Asia.  He points to the critical role of Kazakhstan in China’s foreign energy policy, and notes that it has received some of the largest Chinese investments, notably CNPC’s majority share in Aktobemuniagaz, and the Chinese commitment to building a $10 billion oil pipeline from the Aktobinsk oil-fields to coastal China.  Klare also looks at China’s investment in oil development and production in Sudan and Iran, and the willingness of Chinese oil companies to pay top dollar for oil-production assets in countries including Ecuador, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela.

In Klare’s opinion American leaders have been “trapped in their same old policy paralysis, proposing feeble steps to reduce our reliance on imported oil even as they acquiesce in our ever-increasing dependency.” He proposes an emergency program to cut America’s foreign oil imports (currently over 50% of total US consumption) by addressing the use of oil by automobiles, especially by SUVs and small trucks, by introducing new regulations, and using technologies such as hybrid power units, modern diesels, and investing in public transportation systems.  His fundamental point is that the present policies are unsustainable, that they will cost increasing numbers of the lives of US soldiers, and that by withdrawal of support for despotic regimes the US will do much to improve its international reputation.  In effect he is saying we have to face up to this at some time and the sooner the better, let's plan to move out of the oil age now.

I enjoyed this book, the argument is well-made and a body of important information has been collected.  Anyone interested in the question of the use of oil and the politics of the Middle East should read it.