Saturday, December 17, 2011

FDR Saudi Arabia Petroleum

FDR's meeting with King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia "produced the unprecedented oil-for-protection arrangement that has governed American ties with Saudi Arabia ever since" (xiii). During World War II it became clear that reserves of American oil were inadequate for wartime and the post-war peace. American policy makers were determined to ensure an assured pipeline (p. 29). As "codified in the Foreign Petroleum Policy of the United States, a policy statement released by the State Department in 1944" (p. 30).

Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum by Michael T. Klare