Commentary

Letters to the Editor

To the Editor, In his article “An Oil Fix” (2/20/06), Adam Giansiricusa argues that “to stop receiving so much oil from the Middle East, we would need another source.” He goes on to state that “to say that any of the US’s other major oil importers are any more stable than Middle Eastern nations is preposterous.” Giansiricusa appears to have his facts misplaced. In fact, Middle Eastern imports of crude oil do not make up the majority of crude oil imports. And, the countries that do supply the majority of US crude oil imports are in fact much more stable than most Middle Eastern nations. President Bush has continuously allowed Americans to fall under the impression that all our “foreign oil” comes from Middle Eastern or Arabic countries (by insinuating that lowering foreign oil dependency will help fight ‘Islamo-Fascist Terrorism’). However, only 30% of the crude oil imported by the United States comes from the Middle East (namel from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia). In reality, 50% of all US crude oil imports come from the western hemisphere (19% from Southern African states, 15% from Mexico and 14% from Canada) and when combined with the crude oil produced domestically (46% of total crude oil consumed is domestic), almost 75% of the crude oil consumed by the United States comes from the western hemisphere. So where does our oil come from? Contrary to the questionable facts presented by Adam Giansiricusa and President Bush, the men selling us most of our oil are not wearing turbans. Food for thought, Alex Thorn Andover ‘04, Class Secretary