U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil ranks "very high" as a national security concern, former CIA director James Woolsey Jr. tells THE FUTURIST magazine

U.S. dependence on oil from the Middle East ranks very high as a national security concern, former CIA director James Woolsey told THE FUTURIST magazine in an interview available on the World Future Society's Web site www.wfs.org . "The oil infrastructure that we rely on is in the U.S. but in a lot of other countries as well, particularly the very volatile Middle East. So if you have Ahmadinejad deciding to pull 1 million barrels a day off line because he’s unhappy with us pressing him not to develop nuclear weapons, you can have oil go up to $100 per barrel or so," Woolsey explains. "In Saudi Arabia, if for example, Prince Nayef, the interior minister, should succeed king Abdullah someday, you’d have a Saudi king who is very close to the Wahhabi and might adopt policies that would be difficult for the United States. If you look back to February [2006] when al-Qaeda attacked the Abqaiq production facility in northeastern Saudi Arabia, one has to realize that had they gotten within mortar range of that facility, they could have taken out the sulfur clearing towers. Robert McFarlane, President Reagan’s National Security advisor, tells us that would take six or seven million barrels of oil a day off line for probably over a year and quite likely send oil up to $200 per barrel."

The interview is one of the highlights of the magazine's July-August issue, which features two fuel-focused special reports: "Biodiesel's Bright Future" by business futurist Will Thurmond and "The Hybrid Phenomenon" by Norma Carr-Ruffino and John Acheson. The section also features commentaries by GM Vice President for environment and energy Beth Lowery and Union of Concerned Scientists field organizer Scott Nathanson.

Pick up the July-August issue of THE FUTURIST for $4.95 at bookstores and newsstands, or write the World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Ave., Suite 450, Bethesda, MD 20814. You can also order online or purchase a PDF's of the articles making up this special section from THE FUTURIST's Web site:

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THE FUTURIST is a bimonthly magazine focused on innovation, creative thinking, and emerging social, economic, environmental, and technological trends.

Editors: To request a review copy of THE FUTURIST magazine, contact director of communications Patrick Tucker 301-656-8274 ext. 116, ptucker@wfs.org. More information about the World Future Society can also be obtained from the Society’s Web site, www.wfs.org