[ex-snook]

"We rely on "foreign oil" from OPEC nations for the same reason we rely on Asia for electronics, on South America for bananas, and on Mexico for our landscapers and restaurant staff: because that's where these things usually are cheapest. "

Except if oil is threatened, we go to war which isn't cheap.

[Alberta's Child]

Then foreign oil becomes more expensive than domestic oil.

Which is exactly where we are now, by the way.

The Middle East is a sh!t-hole, and energy-rich North Dakota has an unemployment rate of about 3%.