In essence what you've tacitly admitted is that we kowtowed to foreign entities because we do not have the wherewithal to explore and make use of our own resources. Saudi Arabia asked for our aid? Why did we give it? It was not just our presence in Saudi Arabia that tweaked Bin Laden. Now he not only got our attention, but he also got us to expend billions and blood, chasing and building in sand lands like chickens with our heads cut off.
Our desire for vengeance has trumped our faculty for deliberation over the bigger picture. "Not to worry. A few extended zots will fix this." Our forefathers would be turning over in their graves if they saw our lack of sense, foresight, and tact when it comes to dealing with foreign powers, let alone our willingness to give up personal liberty for the sake of security.
If we had our act together domestically we could have told Saudi Arabia to go ahead and set their price for oil. If we feel so inclined we'll buy it. If they wanted to charge a steeper price than we cared to pay, we could have told them to pound sand. If we had the right eyes and ears on the ground over there we could have castrated the bastards who seek our demise before they could say "camel."
We gave the aid not just for resources, we gave it so that others would not TAKE IT! See the beauty of a resource is not just having it but also denying it to someone else.
You would rather that Iraq had the Saudi oil fields? Because that was the option in the Saudi’s mind. Or did you not get that?