Review of book: Michael T. Klare, Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum

Duffield, John S.

English

Georgia State University

Georgia State University
ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University
Political Science Faculty Publications Department of Political Science
2005
Michael T. Klare, Blood and Oil: The Dangers and
Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency
on Imported Petroleum
John S. Duffield
Georgia State University, duffield@gsu.edu
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/political_science_facpub
Part of the Political Science Commons
This Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Political Science at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been
accepted for inclusion in Political Science Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more
information, please contact scholarworks@gsu.edu.
Recommended Citation
Duffield, John S. Michael T. Klare. Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency on Imported
Petroleum. Naval War College Review 58, no. 2 (Spring 2005): 142-43.
rather than indulging in oversimplified
truisms regarding French and German
national courage and gratitude for Amer-
ican participation in the world wars, the
Marshall Plan, and the Cold War.
ROB BRACKNELL
Major, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe
Staff Judge Advocate, USA,
Al Anbar Province, Iraq
Klare, Michael T. Blood and Oil: The Dangers and
Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency
on Imported Petroleum. New York: Henry Holt,
2004. 265 pp. $25
In Blood and Oil, Professor Michael
Klare of Hampshire College offers an
important critique of U.S. national se-
curity policy, one that should be read
by American security professionals. In
brief, he argues that U.S. foreign and
military policy has been increasingly
driven by the need to ensure reliable ac-
cess to foreign oil, especially in the
Middle East, and that as American for-
eign oil dependence continues to grow,
U.S. forces will increasingly find them-
selves fighting to defend oil-producing
regions and supply routes.
An engaging writer, Klare develops his
thesis as follows. After documenting
the substantial and growing U.S. depen-
dence on foreign oil and the problems it
has created, Klare describes the increas-
ing involvement of the United States in
the Middle East since World War II,
particularly its close ties with Saudi
Arabia, and the negative consequences
of this involvement for American secu-
rity. The next two chapters detail the
latest phase of this unfolding story; they
analyze the energy strategy adopted by
the Bush administration in 2001,
pointing out how it has only reinforced
U.S. dependence on foreign oil, espe-
cially from the Persian Gulf, and they
describe the administration’s policies
toward the region. A fifth chapter dis-
cusses the prospects for diversifying
foreign oil supplies, concluding that
this approach offers little hope of re-
ducing U.S. reliance on the Gulf even
though it would increase the chances of
American entanglement in conflicts
elsewhere, while a sixth describes how
U.S. oil dependence may increasingly
bring this country into conflict with
Russia and China. The final chapter
summarizes the costs of oil dependence.
It all too briefly sets forth an alternative
national energy strategy of “autonomy
and integrity,” which emphasizes de-
taching our pursuit of energy from se-
curity commitments to foreign
governments, reducing oil consump-
tion, and hastening the development of
alternative energy sources.
Overall, Klare performs a valuable pub-
lic service by shining a spotlight on the
national security consequences of U.S.
foreign oil dependence, consequences
that have often gone underappreciated.
A central theme is how American lead-
ers have chosen to “securitize” oil—that
is, “to cast its continued availability as a
matter of ‘national security,’ and thus
something that can be safeguarded
through the use of military force.” The
book is very well documented, with
forty-five pages of notes, including ref-
erences to a number of primary sources.
Some of Klare’s claims may seem shrill
or speculative, in part because they are
so rarely voiced, but they nevertheless
bear careful consideration. Perhaps
most controversial will be his descrip-
tion of the current U.S. policy toward
the Gulf. “In the months before and
1 4 2 N A V A L W A R C O L L E G E R E V I E W
after 9/11,” he argues, “the Bush ad-
ministration fashioned a comprehen-
sive strategy for American domination
of the Persian Gulf and the procure-
ment of ever-increasing quantities of
petroleum.” This “strategy of maxi-
mum extraction” involved three
goals—the stabilization of Saudi Ara-
bia, the removal of Saddam Hussein
and his replacement with a stable gov-
ernment capable of substantially boost-
ing oil output, and the escalation of
pressure on Iran in the hopes of pro-
ducing a favorable leadership change
there as well.
As important and overlooked as oil has
been as a determinant of U.S. strategy
toward the region, this characterization
of the Bush administration’s policies
may appear simplistic given the various
other motives offered, such as non-
proliferation, antiterrorism, and Israel’s
security. In particular, given the title of
the book, the connection between en-
ergy concerns and the invasion of Iraq
would have benefited from more thor-
ough analysis. As it is, Klare devotes
just one page to an explicit discussion
of the administration’s oil-related mo-
tives for ousting Saddam. As indirect
evidence, he points to U.S. efforts to
seize Iraq’s oil facilities at the outset of
the war, but this overlooks the equally
plausible goal of ensuring that postwar
Iraq could finance its own reconstruction.
Ultimately, Klare’s argument is largely
structural in nature, but it is also a
powerful one that cannot be easily dis-
missed. As he notes in the preface,
“Since cheap oil is essential to the na-
tion’s economic vigor, American lead-
ers, of whatever party affiliation, have
felt compelled to do whatever was nec-
essary to ensure that enough was avail-
able to satisfy our ever-expanding
requirements.” As the competition for
oil intensifies, what is deemed necessary
could well be increasingly a military
response.
JOHN DUFFIELD
Department of Political Science
Georgia State University
Cronin, Audrey Kurth, and James M. Ludes, eds.
Attacking Terrorism: Elements of a Grand Strategy.
Washington, D.C.: Georgetown Univ. Press,
2004. 320pp. $26.95
This volume is a much-needed tonic.
Attacking Terrorism—a somewhat belli-
cose title, since most of the articles in-
cluded recognize the need for a carefully
calibrated response to terrorism—is a
diverse collection of focused and even-
handed assessments of the military,
diplomatic, economic, and legal tools
available to confront the problem.
Cronin, a terrorism specialist with the
Congressional Research Service and an
adjunct professor at Georgetown Uni-
versity, and Ludes, a former editor in
chief of National Security Studies Quar-
terly, selected their contributors well.
The diversity of expertise this volume
offers affords it a broad perspective on
counterterrorism strategies.
Lindsay Clutterbuck offers an explora-
tion of a legal approach to combating
terrorism (including illuminating dis-
cussions of British and European Union
practices); she concludes that it is best
to combine the legal and military ele-
ments of the struggle rather than ap-
proach counterterrorism solely as a
war. Striking a similar note, Timothy
Hoyt argues that the “use of military
force may prove spectacularly unsuc-
cessful if it is not carefully correlated
B O O K R E V I E W S 1 4 3


Michael T. Klare, Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum

ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University

Georgia State UniversityScholarWorks @ Georgia State UniversityPolitical Science Faculty Publications Department of Political Science2005Michael T. Klare, Blood and Oil: The Dangers andConsequences of America’s Growing Dependencyon Imported PetroleumJohn S. DuffieldGeorgia State University, duffield@gsu.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/political_science_facpubPart of the Political Science CommonsThis Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Political Science at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has beenaccepted for inclusion in Political Science Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For moreinformation, please contact scholarworks@gsu.edu.Recommended CitationDuffield, John S. Michael T. Klare. Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency on ImportedPetroleum. Naval War College Review 58, no. 2 (Spring 2005): 142-43.rather than indulging in oversimplifiedtruisms regarding French and Germannational courage and gratitude for Amer-ican participation in the world wars, theMarshall Plan, and the Cold War.ROB BRACKNELLMajor, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, EuropeStaff Judge Advocate, USA,Al Anbar Province, IraqKlare, Michael T. Blood and Oil: The Dangers andConsequences of America’s Growing Dependencyon Imported Petroleum. New York: Henry Holt,2004. 265 pp. $25In Blood and Oil, Professor MichaelKlare of Hampshire College offers animportant critique of U.S. national se-curity policy, one that should be readby American security professionals. Inbrief, he argues that U.S. foreign andmilitary policy has been increasinglydriven by the need to ensure reliable ac-cess to foreign oil, especially in theMiddle East, and that as American for-eign oil dependence continues to grow,U.S. forces will increasingly find them-selves fighting to defend oil-producingregions and supply routes.An engaging writer, Klare develops histhesis as follows. After documentingthe substantial and growing U.S. depen-dence on foreign oil and the problems ithas created, Klare describes the increas-ing involvement of the United States inthe Middle East since World War II,particularly its close ties with SaudiArabia, and the negative consequencesof this involvement for American secu-rity. The next two chapters detail thelatest phase of this unfolding story; theyanalyze the energy strategy adopted bythe Bush administration in 2001,pointing out how it has only reinforcedU.S. dependence on foreign oil, espe-cially from the Persian Gulf, and theydescribe the administration’s policiestoward the region. A fifth chapter dis-cusses the prospects for diversifyingforeign oil supplies, concluding thatthis approach offers little hope of re-ducing U.S. reliance on the Gulf eventhough it would increase the chances ofAmerican entanglement in conflictselsewhere, while a sixth describes howU.S. oil dependence may increasinglybring this country into conflict withRussia and China. The final chaptersummarizes the costs of oil dependence.It all too briefly sets forth an alternativenational energy strategy of “autonomyand integrity,” which emphasizes de-taching our pursuit of energy from se-curity commitments to foreigngovernments, reducing oil consump-tion, and hastening the development ofalternative energy sources.Overall, Klare performs a valuable pub-lic service by shining a spotlight on thenational security consequences of U.S.foreign oil dependence, consequencesthat have often gone underappreciated.A central theme is how American lead-ers have chosen to “securitize” oil—thatis, “to cast its continued availability as amatter of ‘national security,’ and thussomething that can be safeguardedthrough the use of military force.” Thebook is very well documented, withforty-five pages of notes, including ref-erences to a number of primary sources.Some of Klare’s claims may seem shrillor speculative, in part because they areso rarely voiced, but they neverthelessbear careful consideration. Perhapsmost controversial will be his descrip-tion of the current U.S. policy towardthe Gulf. “In the months before and1 4 2 N A V A L W A R C O L L E G E R E V I E Wafter 9/11,” he argues, “the Bush ad-ministration fashioned a comprehen-sive strategy for American dominationof the Persian Gulf and the procure-ment of ever-increasing quantities ofpetroleum.” This “strategy of maxi-mum extraction” involved threegoals—the stabilization of Saudi Ara-bia, the removal of Saddam Husseinand his replacement with a stable gov-ernment capable of substantially boost-ing oil output, and the escalation ofpressure on Iran in the hopes of pro-ducing a favorable leadership changethere as well.As important and overlooked as oil hasbeen as a determinant of U.S. strategytoward the region, this characterizationof the Bush administration’s policiesmay appear simplistic given the variousother motives offered, such as non-proliferation, antiterrorism, and Israel’ssecurity. In particular, given the title ofthe book, the connection between en-ergy concerns and the invasion of Iraqwould have benefited from more thor-ough analysis. As it is, Klare devotesjust one page to an explicit discussionof the administration’s oil-related mo-tives for ousting Saddam. As indirectevidence, he points to U.S. efforts toseize Iraq’s oil facilities at the outset ofthe war, but this overlooks the equallyplausible goal of ensuring that postwarIraq could finance its own reconstruction.Ultimately, Klare’s argument is largelystructural in nature, but it is also apowerful one that cannot be easily dis-missed. As he notes in the preface,“Since cheap oil is essential to the na-tion’s economic vigor, American lead-ers, of whatever party affiliation, havefelt compelled to do whatever was nec-essary to ensure that enough was avail-able to satisfy our ever-expandingrequirements.” As the competition foroil intensifies, what is deemed necessarycould well be increasingly a militaryresponse.JOHN DUFFIELDDepartment of Political ScienceGeorgia State UniversityCronin, Audrey Kurth, and James M. Ludes, eds.Attacking Terrorism: Elements of a Grand Strategy.Washington, D.C.: Georgetown Univ. Press,2004. 320pp. $26.95This volume is a much-needed tonic.Attacking Terrorism—a somewhat belli-cose title, since most of the articles in-cluded recognize the need for a carefullycalibrated response to terrorism—is adiverse collection of focused and even-handed assessments of the military,diplomatic, economic, and legal toolsavailable to confront the problem.Cronin, a terrorism specialist with theCongressional Research Service and anadjunct professor at Georgetown Uni-versity, and Ludes, a former editor inchief of National Security Studies Quar-terly, selected their contributors well.The diversity of expertise this volumeoffers affords it a broad perspective oncounterterrorism strategies.Lindsay Clutterbuck offers an explora-tion of a legal approach to combatingterrorism (including illuminating dis-cussions of British and European Unionpractices); she concludes that it is bestto combine the legal and military ele-ments of the struggle rather than ap-proach counterterrorism solely as awar. Striking a similar note, TimothyHoyt argues that the “use of militaryforce may prove spectacularly unsuc-cessful if it is not carefully correlatedB O O K R E V I E W S 1 4 3

https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1079&amp;context=political_science_facpub

Michael T. Klare, Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum

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