The National Intelligence Estimate for July of 2007

The National Intelligence Estimate for July of 2007 titled The Terrorist Threat to the US Homeland (declassified version) states that the United States currently is in a heightened threat environment…. al-Qa’ida will continue to enhance its capabilities to attack the Homeland…”

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/images/07/17/nie.terrorist.threat.pdf


Less than 72 hours ago my wife and I were flying home to Naples, Florida following seven days in the Villa Park, California and a wonderful family reunion. On each of those seven days the United States imported approximately 10.181 million barrels of oil per day.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html

Among the many reasons that the threat of terrorist attacks on US soil is increasing daily is that Americans are generously funding the enemy’s war against us with the vast flow of dollars we are spending on imported oil. . America spends more than $200,000 per minute on foreign oil -- $13 million per hour.

http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/aoilpolicy2.asp

A significant portion of those dollars is funneled to al queda, its affiliates, and imitators. Those dollars purchase the bullets, RPGs and components for the IEDs, which result in the death of American servicemen and women daily. Those dollars fund individuals and groups who are hard at work planning attacks on targets on US soil. Our dependence on imported oil makes us vulnerable to efforts by al queda to disrupt our oil supply. Of equal importance is the truth that the more fossil fuel we use, the greater our national impact on global warming.

We MUST reduce our energy consumption, both by reducing the waste of energy and becoming much more energy efficient. We MUST bring on line, as rapidly as possible, EVERY source of clean, renewable domestic energy available to us. National Security, energy independence and global warming are closely linked issues, which must be urgently addressed simultaneously. To paraphrase Winston Churchill in his calls for England to take seriously the rising threat of Hitler and Nazi Germany…Of course we shall do it in the end, we shall surely do it…but how much more dear the cost for every day’s delay.