Retired Generals, Admiral Warn of Dangers Created by Oil Dependence, Rising Global Instability

Highlight need for action on meaningful energy security legislation

    WASHINGTON, June 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- During a public briefing
 on Capitol Hill, former senior military officers today assessed the
 profound risks created by the nation's excessive oil dependence. The review
 of threats to global oil production and distribution occurred as the Senate
 debates legislation on vehicle fuel economy and other aspects of U.S.
 energy security.
     The assessment was delivered jointly by General P.X. Kelley, USMC
 (Ret.), 28th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps and first head of
 the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees forces in the Middle
 East; General Charles Wald, USAF (Ret.), former Deputy Commander of the
 United States European Command (EUCOM); and Admiral Dennis Blair, USN
 (Ret.), former Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Command
 (PACCOM). In their sobering collective judgment, oil dependence ranked just
 below weapons of mass destruction on the list of dangers facing the U.S.
 today.
     General Kelley remarked, "It has been thirty years since we've had
 meaningful energy policy changes relevant to oil dependence in this
 country, and the acuteness of the threat has only grown in that time. Our
 situation will only continue to worsen if we don't make changes in our
 consumption levels. Two-thirds of global reserves are in the Persian Gulf
 Region. Iran has the world's third largest proven reserves, Iraq has the
 fourth largest. By comparison, America holds less than 5 percent of global
 reserves."
     The three men are members of the Energy Security Leadership Council
 (ESLC), a group of prominent business and national security leaders
 committed to reducing U.S. oil dependence. General Kelley serves as
 co-Chair of the ESLC with Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President and CEO
 of FedEx Corporation. Mr. Smith also participated, observing, "The threat
 of oil dependence is grave and growing."
     In December 2006, the Council unveiled its Recommendations to the
 Nation on Reducing U.S. Oil Dependence. That report proposed a combination
 of oil supply and demand policies that would reduce the economic and
 national risks caused by oil dependence. Those measures included increasing
 the fuel economy of all new cars, light trucks, and commercial vehicles
 sold in the U.S. by 4- percent annually, expanding domestic production of
 oil and natural gas, and developing alterative fuel sources for oil such as
 ethanol.
     The ESLC strongly supports the "Ten-in-Ten" vehicle fuel-economy
 legislation reported by the Senate Commerce Committee. That bill, which
 closely matches a bipartisan proposal by Senators Bryon Dorgan (D-ND) and
 Larry Craig (R-ID), is being considered as part of the full Senate energy
 debate. The ESLC is also committed to ensuring energy security legislation
 includes expanded production of oil resources located beneath the Outer
 Continental Shelf and greater use of alternative fuels.
     The ESLC is a project of Securing America's Future Energy, a
 nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization committed to reducing America's
 dependence on oil and improving U.S. energy security in order to bolster
 national security and strengthen the economy.
 
 

SOURCE Securing America's Future Energy