Rethinking the Axis of Oil

Rethinking the Axis of Oil

Apr 28th 2005 | WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition

Can America ever kick the oil habit? Not if Congress and George Bush have their way, but the ground is shifting

FOR six decades, one of the few fixed stars in American foreign policy has been the special relationship with Saudi Arabia. Bluntly put, America has offered military protection to the Saudi royal family in return for the free flow of relatively cheap oil from the desert kingdom. Every president since Franklin Roosevelt has stuck by this deal, and the Saudis have mostly done so as well. Within the OPEC oil cartel, the Saudis are usually the voice of moderation.

Alas, things seem to have gone wrong on George Bush's watch. Despite his family's famous closeness to the Saudi rulers, oil prices have shot past $50 a barrel, up from barely $10 in 1998. The price of gasoline, which Americans still expect to cost just a buck a gallon, now touches $3 in some places.

http://www.economist.com/world/na/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3914915