Oil is a commodity of basic strategic importance. No modern defence system can be maintained and no wars fought without a great supply of oil. Thus, significant quantities of scarce oil resources are currently being diverted for military purposes, resulting in less constructive uses of natural energy resources for humanitarian purposes.
World War I provided the first practical demonstration of the revolutionary effect of the military use of oil-powered ships, aircraft and vehicles. In World War II, the strategic importance of oil was even more crucial and oil installations were rated among the top-priority targets of attack. The strategic importance of oil has not diminished since then, but rather has increased with the emphasis on the two main characteristics of modern warfare: extensive mechanization and high mobility.
The U.S. Department of Defense accounts for an estimated 80% of the federal government’s energy consumption. The defense department is also the world’s single largest institutional consumer of petroleum, which supports the world’s largest collection of guns, tanks, military aircraft and warships.
Oil is not renewable. It is a limited resource becoming scarcer, as are other natural energy resources. These resources could be used to develop and maintain higher standards of living throughout the world, but the achievement of a high-quality civilization is impeded by the use of these resources for aggressive purposes.
The current high standards of living (which include freedom) in the developed countries can only be assured of continuation if there is a substantial defence network in these countries.