America
The Price We Pay for Energy
A
terrible drama played out in a remote part of the Sahara Desert of Algeria in January. A large natural gas fi eld was raided by Islamic terrorists, fashioning themselves “The
Battalion of Blood.” They were apparently allied with the al-Qaida terrorists who seized a huge part of Mali, just south and east of Algeria. A small force of French soldiers battled these forces in Mali. “The Battalion of Blood” seized foreign workers at the
natural gas fi eld and took them as hostages. The terrorists demanded that the French stop their operations in Mali and withdraw, leaving this large nation, apparently not defensible by its own forces, to the mercy of al-Qaida. A rescue eff ort by the Algerian armed
forces did not go well. Apparently, many of the hostages were killed. There are several aspects of this
STEIN DREEMZ
transporting it. Let’s stop for a moment and ask whether we really want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Second, and even more frightening, the security
situation in the less-developed world is extremely dicey. France, the second most populous nation in Western Europe, is fi ghting the advance guard of the terrorists, and, so far as we know, doing a fi ne job at it. Contrary to the impression that many have of France
story that are vitally important for us as Americans to think about. First, our politicians, especially the left- wing politicians, hammer the energy companies and the people who work for them mercilessly and incessantly. They are called profi teers and exploiters and monopolists, as if it were still the days of the Rockefeller monopoly. Our government taxes them every way it can, belittles
them every way it can, and regulates them to the point where new oil and gas production is drastically curtailed. Just recently, the government halted the pipeline that was going to take oil from Canada to the United States. These attacks on the energy industry are a disgrace.
We all need energy to live. It powers our homes, transportation, medical facilities, universities. Getting that energy is a diffi cult, risky job. Working in an oil fi eld in Alaska or west Texas or the panhandle of Oklahoma is extremely hard, treacherous work. As we are seeing, extracting oil and gas in the more
volatile parts of the world risks death and injury from vicious, sick men. Let’s think about the people who bring us our energy
and spare a thought or two for them, spare a prayer for them, and spare them from the present government’s withering attacks. Extracting it is a legal business. So is
28 NEWSMAX | MARCH 2013
The security situation in the less-developed world is extremely dicey.
because of her swift defeat by the Nazis in 1940, the French are tough fi ghters when they want to be. Their record in World War I was superb and their long, losing fi ght to keep Indochina and Algeria, while morally questionable, involved some very brave soldiering. But France was able to send only
1,400 troops on short notice and a small number of armored vehicles. The other nations of Europe are virtually disarmed. The vast armies that we imagine from the 20th century are only a memory. The terrorists are well-armed throughout North and East Africa. They are startlingly motivated (whether
by Islamic fever or money is hard to tell). Their organizational skills are top notch. They have the capacity to create havoc in all of northern and eastern Africa and thus all over the world. There is only one country that is armed well enough,
trained well enough, staff ed well enough, to take them on. That’s the United States. We have an armed force far bigger than that of all of Western Europe combined and incomparably better equipped.
A
s we contemplate budget cuts and spending caps and taxes, let’s remember that we live in a dangerous
world. We disarm at great peril. As Ronald Reagan said (in paraphrase), he never saw a war against us that was started because we were too strong. Al-Qaida’s ambitions are limitless. Their goals — blood and death. We have to be strong enough to defend ourselves. If
taxes need to be raised, let’s recall what Adam Smith wrote: “Defense is greater than opulence.” Higher taxes are a small price to pay to keep ourselves free and the world secure. It is later than any dare think.
BEN
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