To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (197824 ) 10/30/2001 9:03:43 PM From: DOUG H Read Replies (2) | Respond to My quote;You are wrong,however, in stating that our imports from the Arabs went from 30-60% under Clinton. In fact, when Clinton came in office the Mid-East accounted for 23% of our imports. That has dropped to 13% now, ie we are importing more oil but less of it from the Mid-East. Since 1973, when the Arabs imposed their first oil embargo on the U.S. and OPEC tripled prices, oil imports have jumped from 33 percent of the oil we use to 57 percent today. Persian Gulf countries now account for 25 percent of our imports, with Saudi Arabia providing 14.5 percent and Iraq about 8 percent. It has been estimated that one- third of America's $300 billion annual defense budget goes toward safeguarding the transport of oil from the Middle East, leaving less money for other types of security measures. And dependence on foreign oil is largely responsible for the worsening U.S. trade deficit, which climbed to a record $368.9 billion last year.
