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© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
O. Shokri Kalehsar, US Energy Diplomacy in the Caspian Sea Basin,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66929-4_4
Chapter 4
George W. Bush Energy Diplomacy
Abstract In a series of speeches in 2006, Bush stated that the United States was
dangerously dependent on energy supplies from volatile areas. While there is consensus on the dangers of US dependence on imported oil, Democrats and Republicans
disagree on how to meet those challenges. And the failure of the country’s energy
policy is causally related. Excessive US dependence on oil imported from the
Middle East caused the United States to seek alternative sources of energy to implement a policy of extreme diversity in energy sources.
Rising US oil imports from the Middle East posed a serious threat to US energy
security and national security under George W. Bush. The US Policy toward the
Caspian Sea States and Former Soviet Republics was mainly shaped during the
administration of President George W. Bush and his team, specifically Vice President
Dick Cheney. President Bush advocated an aggressive and wide-ranging energy
policy toward the region. Newly independent countries welcomed the opportunity
and opened up their economy to massive investments, aid, and trade. This was in
fact the rational response by all countries of the region, including Russia. The US
believed that the region was rich in oil and gas and trusted exaggerated figures and
reports, published and updated regularly by different regional and international
sources. US appetite was further exacerbated by geopolitical factors. The oil supply
was considered by the Bush administration to be essential for US industries so that
they could function in a profitable and healthy way. They maintained that shortages
in energy supply would most likely have adverse and widespread effects on the
economy of various business sectors: automobile, airlines, construction, petrochemicals, trucking, and agriculture. Petroleum was of crucial importance to the economy because it accounts for two-fifths of the total US energy supply, which makes
it a primary source of energy.
Keywords Oil price volatility · Political economy · Energy Task Force · National
Energy Policy (NEP) · Eurasian energy security · Post 9/11
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
O. Shokri Kalehsar, US Energy Diplomacy in the Caspian Sea Basin,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66929-4_4
Chapter 4
George W. Bush Energy Diplomacy
Abstract In a series of speeches in 2006, Bush stated that the United States was
dangerously dependent on energy supplies from volatile areas. While there is consensus on the dangers of US dependence on imported oil, Democrats and Republicans
disagree on how to meet those challenges. And the failure of the country’s energy
policy is causally related. Excessive US dependence on oil imported from the
Middle East caused the United States to seek alternative sources of energy to implement a policy of extreme diversity in energy sources.
Rising US oil imports from the Middle East posed a serious threat to US energy
security and national security under George W. Bush. The US Policy toward the
Caspian Sea States and Former Soviet Republics was mainly shaped during the
administration of President George W. Bush and his team, specifically Vice President
Dick Cheney. President Bush advocated an aggressive and wide-ranging energy
policy toward the region. Newly independent countries welcomed the opportunity
and opened up their economy to massive investments, aid, and trade. This was in
fact the rational response by all countries of the region, including Russia. The US
believed that the region was rich in oil and gas and trusted exaggerated figures and
reports, published and updated regularly by different regional and international
sources. US appetite was further exacerbated by geopolitical factors. The oil supply
was considered by the Bush administration to be essential for US industries so that
they could function in a profitable and healthy way. They maintained that shortages
in energy supply would most likely have adverse and widespread effects on the
economy of various business sectors: automobile, airlines, construction, petrochemicals, trucking, and agriculture. Petroleum was of crucial importance to the economy because it accounts for two-fifths of the total US energy supply, which makes
it a primary source of energy.
Keywords Oil price volatility · Political economy · Energy Task Force · National
Energy Policy (NEP) · Eurasian energy security · Post 9/11