NYT: Kerry's Goal of Independence from Middle East Oil Divides Advisers

[DeepModem Mom]

Kerry's Goal of Independence From Middle East Oil Divides Advisers
By NEELA BANERJEE

Published: August 7, 2004


WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 - The idea of a United States independent of Middle East oil is a touchstone of Senator John Kerry's campaign and a huge crowd pleaser, but has divided and exasperated many of his most experienced energy advisers.

Some advisers say they worry that Mr. Kerry's focus on freeing the United States from reliance on oil from the Persian Gulf, the linchpin of the energy plan he released on Thursday, is unrealistic and misleading and that hammering away at it would erode Mr. Kerry's credibility with business, the news media and other countries.

The advisers, who include independent analysts, former staff members from Congress and the Clinton administration, and a few industry executives, contend that Mr. Kerry's regular jabs at Saudi Arabia in particular could be construed by many in the Middle East as anti-Arab, at a time when the United States may need the help of other Arab nations to improve the situation in Iraq....

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Among Mr. Kerry's advisers and independent energy analysts, the reviews of the details of the plan were mixed, though most praised its focus on reducing energy demand....

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Increasing fuel efficiency of American cars is a critical aspect of the 10-year, $30 billion plan, though Mr. Kerry has avoided setting target dates or mileage goals. He calls for establishing an Energy Security Trust Fund financed with royalties from federal leases for oil and gas drilling that would then bankroll research into improving fuel efficiency, and developing alternative fuels for automobiles and renewable energy sources for power production....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/07/politics/campaign/07energy.html

[bluestateguy]

1. John Kerry, don't listen to these pink tutu sissies

Screw the "business community". You can't raise any money from them from now on anyway.

And heaven forbid the Saudi royal family be offended! Oh my goodness no! Why their whole constituency of overprivileged college students studying in the US might be offended!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. YEah...That Energy Independance...

Would only lead to a stronger economy and an improved business climate. That would be horrifying. :eyes:

[Almost_there]

3. The one thing I see...

its funny seeing advisors bitch when he makes a stand on something tough! The real issue isn't so much our demand as the demand of the emerging markets like China and the like that have kept current oil prices so high. Increasing fuel efficiency is terrific, but, if there are 10% more cars, and fuel effifiency is increased 10%, we've netted zero change.

I guess I think we need him to come across strong, and dissing Saudi Arabia is fine, because let's have a moment of honesty, they are sitting on the world's oil, and name calling isn't going to really upset them, when they know we still have to buy our oil from them, no matter who is in the White House.

Unfortunately, the only way to really cut dependance on middle east oil is to get it elsewhere. We can't just all get efficient cars, power plants etc overnight. Canada has those huge sandoil fields, and since ANWAR, coastal CA and gulf FL is pretty much off limits, we've got to get it somewhere. I doubt this is going to be much of an issue, since Bushies idea of breaking dependancy on foreign oil involves using technology from the Mother Space Ship to power our Jetsons like flying cars.

~Almost