135
European consumers to benefit from the Caspian gas supply. Lastly, the Secretaries
of State are to deepen their dialog with Caspian nations, including Azerbaijan and
Kazakhstan, in order to develop a stable and transparent environment in which to
conduct infrastructure and energy projects (Jaffe and Morse 2001:8–13).
This urged US policymakers to put energy policy at the forefront of their future
projects unabashed with an emphasis on unprecedented initiatives in US foreign
policy. According to the recommendations of the report, the United States should
have aimed to adopt three practical policies and measures, including
• A series of emergency measures through the management of strategic reserves
and the use of free market solutions.
• A policy based on increasing oil supply (both inside and outside the Gulf) to
ensure access to cheap energy.
• The development and implementation of a comprehensive energy security policy
based on short-term measures, along with long-term initiatives based on the use
of energy diversification tools to save the United States from vulnerability to
energy supply disruptions. The report recommends that the United States design
and implement a strategy based on the prospect of energy security to ensure economic prosperity in the era of energy constraints. This outlook should be reflective of the considerations of the “US domestic economy”, “environmental
issues”, “geopolitical flows” and “security requirements” with a focus on the
Persian Gulf region. (Jaffe and Morse 2001:4–5)
Bush was sufficiently convinced by the urgency of such requirements that one of
his first orders as president was the formation of a “National Energy Policy
Development Group” in his second week in office in January 2001. Despite the
wide range of studies and recommendations made in the report, in the context of the
US National Energy Policy, the central task at hand was to consider a response to
the growing American thirst for imported oil. The president’s focus did not go
unchallenged, however. Eddie, a politician and expert, objected to the results of the
study on the basis that they were evidently influenced by the ambitions of the energy
lobby. In response, in mid-2002, the Vice President’s office refused to publish the
full text of the task force report on the pretext of confidentiality. The Vice President
and President of the National Energy Policy Development Group wrote to Bush in
order to sway the focus of US policy toward investments in domestic supplies,
rather than the attaining of foreign sources, stating that “in order to achieve a 21st
century quality of life, including reliable and environmentally-sound energy, we
need to modernize our storage and energy infrastructure, increasing the supply of
energy that includes renewable energy as well. Let us accelerate the preservation
and improvement of the environment and promote our energy security” (report
2001:VIII).
There was little disagreement however that the US national energy crisis
stemmed from the fundamental imbalance between supply and demand, and that it
could wreak havoc on the economy and affect the standard of living and national
security of the United States if left unchecked (report 2001:VIII). By reviewing the
US National Energy Policy Report, we can identify three basic principles: The
George W. Bush Energy Policy
European consumers to benefit from the Caspian gas supply. Lastly, the Secretaries
of State are to deepen their dialog with Caspian nations, including Azerbaijan and
Kazakhstan, in order to develop a stable and transparent environment in which to
conduct infrastructure and energy projects (Jaffe and Morse 2001:8–13).
This urged US policymakers to put energy policy at the forefront of their future
projects unabashed with an emphasis on unprecedented initiatives in US foreign
policy. According to the recommendations of the report, the United States should
have aimed to adopt three practical policies and measures, including
• A series of emergency measures through the management of strategic reserves
and the use of free market solutions.
• A policy based on increasing oil supply (both inside and outside the Gulf) to
ensure access to cheap energy.
• The development and implementation of a comprehensive energy security policy
based on short-term measures, along with long-term initiatives based on the use
of energy diversification tools to save the United States from vulnerability to
energy supply disruptions. The report recommends that the United States design
and implement a strategy based on the prospect of energy security to ensure economic prosperity in the era of energy constraints. This outlook should be reflective of the considerations of the “US domestic economy”, “environmental
issues”, “geopolitical flows” and “security requirements” with a focus on the
Persian Gulf region. (Jaffe and Morse 2001:4–5)
Bush was sufficiently convinced by the urgency of such requirements that one of
his first orders as president was the formation of a “National Energy Policy
Development Group” in his second week in office in January 2001. Despite the
wide range of studies and recommendations made in the report, in the context of the
US National Energy Policy, the central task at hand was to consider a response to
the growing American thirst for imported oil. The president’s focus did not go
unchallenged, however. Eddie, a politician and expert, objected to the results of the
study on the basis that they were evidently influenced by the ambitions of the energy
lobby. In response, in mid-2002, the Vice President’s office refused to publish the
full text of the task force report on the pretext of confidentiality. The Vice President
and President of the National Energy Policy Development Group wrote to Bush in
order to sway the focus of US policy toward investments in domestic supplies,
rather than the attaining of foreign sources, stating that “in order to achieve a 21st
century quality of life, including reliable and environmentally-sound energy, we
need to modernize our storage and energy infrastructure, increasing the supply of
energy that includes renewable energy as well. Let us accelerate the preservation
and improvement of the environment and promote our energy security” (report
2001:VIII).
There was little disagreement however that the US national energy crisis
stemmed from the fundamental imbalance between supply and demand, and that it
could wreak havoc on the economy and affect the standard of living and national
security of the United States if left unchecked (report 2001:VIII). By reviewing the
US National Energy Policy Report, we can identify three basic principles: The
George W. Bush Energy Policy