Oil: A Military Solution
Harrigan, Anthony
"Oil: A Military Solution" Given a certain set of conditions, the United States might find it necessary to take control of oilfields in the Middle East. All thoughtful Americans appreciate that such action would be fraught...
...Therefore, if the United States feels compelled to take military action to prevent the collapse of Europe and Japan, it must intervene in a Middle Eastern country with the capacity for meeting the huge oil needs of America's friends and allies...
...aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf...
...Venezuela is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), but it ignored the Arab oil embargo in 1973 and 1974...
...Naval vessels committed to a landing operation in the Persian Gulf would have to be dispatched around Africa or across the Indian Ocean from the Pacific...
...Indeed the Saudis already know that the subject of intervention is being discussed in the United States...
...In one of his final newspaper columns, Joseph Alsop declared that "There is 100 percent certainty of another Arab oil embargo if war breaks out—unless the United States makes quite clear, credibly and in advance, that renewal of the embargo will be the signal for American military action in the Persian Gulf...
...The former are victims of extortion being practiced by the Arab oil cartel...
...Planes from the carrier in the Persian Gulf presumably would provide this cover for part of the distance...
...It contains a vast complex of wells, oil storage tanks, wharfs, power plants, and refinery facilities...
...aircraft carrier would cruise in the Gulf of Oman to deter Iranian intervention and prevent any attempt to block the narrow Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the Persian Gulf...
...Southward there is a wide belt of drifting sand often piled up into large dunes...
...Of necessity, intervention would be a combined naval-air operation utilizing America's strength in aircraft carriers and air transports...
...military intervention, in the event of a major embargo crisis threatening the West, is Saudi Arabia...
...Heavy pressure would be brought on Portugal to make sure that Lajes airfield in the Azores would be open to American C-5A transports in the event of military intervention in the Gulf—perhaps to the point of warning Portugal that noncooperation would result in a landingof U.S...
...Finally, the geographical isolation of the Arabian Peninsula from the land mass of Western Asia provides a small advantage in a situation in which there would be many disadvantages to overcome...
...government has issued disclaimers about the use of military force "yet deliberately left the niggling uncertainty that there was no knowing what acts of desperation might ensue if great and powerful countries were suddenly threatened with ruin...
...In 1973, it was producing at a rate of 4.5 million bbl...
...Meanwhile, a Marine helicopter carrier and two embarked battalions of Marines undoubtedly would be given a training mission in the Indian Ocean...
...to send two large aircraft carriers on show-the-flag missions in the western Indian Ocean, and to pre-position vital military supplies, suitable for operations in the Persian Gulf, at NATO bases in Europe...
...The region is remote from the continental United States...
...Only a few years ago American military intervention in Saudi Arabia would have been unthinkable...
...Marines to hold the vital Lajes airfield...
...It has more oil than Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Abu Dhabi, and all the other Gulf states put together...
...Given these considerations, the logical candidate for U.S...
...It should be recognized that American military intervention in the Arabian Peninsula or the Persian Gulf area, though far from impossible, would entail great difficulties...
...Military intervention in the Persian Gulf region, for example, could lead to dangerous Soviet armed action...
...Iran also would be cautioned against intervening in support of Saudi Arabia...
...But Venezuelan oil is not the answer to the oil needs of Western Europe and Japan...
...For instance, in an approaching oil embargo crisis, one would look for the U.S...
...If there is another embargo, the United States might have to intervene, not so much to protect itself as to sustain the established world order, and to protect allies in whose strength America has a tremendous economic and strategic stake...
...For example, in this strip, near the town of Abqaiq, is the Ghawar Oil Field, the biggest single oil field in the world...
...This is a thumbnail sketch of what would be the most complex and sensitive intervention operation ever undertaken by the United States—an operation far more difficult and dangerous than the landings in Lebanon and the Dominican Republic...
...3) As these moves were in progress, U.S...
...Another embargo would inconvenience but not cripple the U.S...
...The aim of the United States is to have friendly relations with Saudi Arabia, but the Saudis must realize that they will not be permitted to use their oil weapon to drive the Western world and Japan into poverty and industrial disaster...
...There are many coastal sand flats...
...If necessary, moreover, American military intervention ought preferably to take place where there is the greatest opportunity for swift, effective military action...
...conventional forces in the post-Vietnam era, a preparatory buildup of forces would seem to be necessary...
...The importance of the United States conveying this truth to the Arab oil-producing nations has been cited by a number of commentators...
...Prof...
...If the United States were to find it necessary to take over the Saudi oilfields, the military intervention undoubtedly would be designed to secure control of the country's Persian Gulf coastal region in which most of the oil installations are located...
...Soviet satellite reconnaissance might detect preparations for such an intervention operation...
...Thus naval air operations officers should now have a clear understanding of the problems they would face if called to support a landing in Saudi Arabia...
...Robert Tucker, writing in Commentary, has suggested that the United States consider applying force or at least the "credible threat of force" to safeguard vital oil interests in the Middle East...
...The two countries long enjoyed excellent relations...
...Simultaneously, he would order a worldwide defense alert against surprise attack and urge the Soviets to refrain from any counteraction...
...Constellation cruised the Persian Gulf on what was officially described as a "familiarization" mission...
...It would be a simple matter for the United States to compel Venezuela to resume oil shipments...
...forces should be able to secure control of the most vital part of the Saudi Arabian oil area...
...If Venezuela were to join the Arabs in a second round, it would invite retaliation from the United States...
...These moves would be made under cover of planes from a U.S...
...All thoughtful Americans appreciate that such action would be fraught with great risk...
...But there has been an extraordinary change in the relationship between the Western industrialized nations and the Arab oil-producing states...
...Last November, the 60,000-ton carrier U.S.S...
...Within twenty-four hours, U.S...
...Because of the overall weakness of U.S...
...The sea nearby is shallow and full of shoals...
...Nevertheless, given the military resources of the United States, a condition of grave economic crisis, and the special vulnerability of the Saudis, military intervention is feasible...
...Under the circumstances, the U.S...
...The coastal areas not covered with sand are bare, rocky terrain...
...This strip is characterized by low relief...
...A second U.S...
...Whether intervention would be a wise action or an act of desperation is for the U.S...
...In England, the Daily Telegraph observed that the U.S...
...It is the giant Middle East oil producer with a production of 8.5 million bbl...
...per day...
...The Saudis, for their part, must realize that a new embargo would be a virtual act of war against the West...
...Oilfield personnel could be flown in from overseas to replace those Saudis who refused to work or attempted to sabotage the operations...
...At a minimum, the occupied area in the Persian Gulf coastal strip would consist of a zone 100 miles in width by 200 miles in length...
...Air Force C-5A transports, whichhad refueled in the Azores and flown over Israel and Jordan, would land U.S...
...military authorities would adopt an intervention plan involving the following moves: 1) The President of the United States would announce that a landing operation in Saudi Arabia was in progress due to a global economic crisis brought on by the Arab oil boycott which threatened the collapse of the free world...
...per day...
...Planes from U.S...
...Americans played the leading role in the development of the country's oil resources...
...itself, for, at this time, the bulk of America's imported oil comes from Venezuela and Canada...
...Its armed forces are small and weak...
...These areas are absolutely dependent on petroleum from the Middle East...
...soldiers and ground equipment at Dhahran...
...Nevertheless, resort to the military option is conceivable if the Arab oil-producing states impose an embargo which threatens the collapse of key NATO countries and Japan...
...The element of surprise would be desirable in order to minimize sabotage to these installations once the Saudis realized intervention was in progress...
...Moreover, it is an area where the United States is without forward military bases such as it possesses in the Pacific...
...Second, Saudi Arabia has fewer than six million people and they are scattered over a vast territory...
...Other Marines would come ashore to assist in holding the airfield perimeter and would take over coastal oil terminal facilities...
...2) The Marine helicopter carrier would proceed to a point off Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and would launch helicopters and Marines to secure the vital Dhahran airfield...
...Military intervention would be only a last resort, but the Arab states should clearly understand that it is an option which will take on a compelling logic if the oil embargo weapon is used again and the industrial machine of the West is shut down...
...and its allies must do whatever is necessary to assure their survival...
...First, Saudi Arabia is the key to any effective embargo...
...In the event of a lengthy occupation of the Saudi oil fields, the problem of sabotage would be minimal...
...government and people to debate...
...It is reasonable to suppose that U.S...
...carriers in the eastern Mediterranean would provide cover for the transports in their flight over Jordan and Saudi Arabia near the southern border of Iraq...
Vol. 8 • March 1975 • No. 6
