I pulled up a couple articles on ANWAR. Estimates range from 3 to 16 billion barrels of oil. Both the high and low ends are quite suspect. The middle estimates seem to be around 6 or 7 bbl. This is about what the U.S. uses in one year, and you obviously can't pump all the oil out in one year. So even if you pump ANWAR dry, and do so over the course of 10 years, we'd never replace more than about 10% of our total oil consumption. ANWAR would lower prices for a while, but not that much, and then when it's dry, where's our reserve? ANWAR is not the answer to "make these guys stand in the corner for a few decades".
The point is to make a dramatic point that we WILL seek independence from Middle East sources; at a minimum we'll have alternatives in our back pocket if they go nuts again.
From our point of view, it's always better to suck the other guy's wells dry first, if it can be done economically.