Vol 32 No 4 - AF Logistics Management Agency

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Extending hope and opportunity depends on a stable
supply of energy that keeps America’s economy running
and America’s environment clean. For too long our nation
has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence
leaves us more vulnerable
to hostile regimes and to
terrorists—who could cause huge
disruptions of oil shipments, and
raise the price of oil, and do great
harm to our economy.
—President George W.
Bush, State of the Union Address, January 23, 20071 Introduction
Energy is arguably the greatest national security issue
for the United States (US). By late 2007, oil broke the
$100 a barrel mark. Climate change is being blamed
on ever increasing levels of energy usage, resulting in the
inevitable conclusion that American national security strategy
is being affected by long-term energy considerations. 2
Energy was a major section of the President’s State of the
Union speech in January 2007, where he outlined a proposal
to reduce gasoline usage 20 percent in the next 10 years
(Twenty in Ten). 3 This position was reemphasized in the 2008
State of the Union. According to the US Department of
Energy’s Annual Energy Outlook for 2008, oil prices are high
enough to trigger the initiation of alternative energy
processes in the $30 to $60 range (2006 dollars). These
Air Force Journal of Logistics