Independence-(u)


 * Bahgat, Gawdat. “United States Energy Security.” __The Journal of Social, Political and__** **__Economic Studies__ 26.3 (Fall 2001): 515-542.**

The author, Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, examines the history of U.S. oil consumption as well as strategies to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. He argues that obtaining a higher degree of energy independence will require a multi-faceted approach consisting of at least the following five components: increasing domestic production through technological advances, conservation, nuclear power, increasing the strategic petroleum reserve, and developing a comprehensive energy policy for the entire western hemisphere. Bahgat concludes that in the near-term the Persian Gulf will remain a primary source of imported U.S. oil, and he argues that a solution to what President Bush calls the “energy crisis” will take time. (Katie Ertmer)