Discussion: Struggling 1970's

During the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed an embargo against the United States in retaliation for the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military and to gain leverage in the post-war peace negotiations. Arab OPEC members also extended the embargo to other countries that supported Israel including the Netherlands, Portugal, and South Africa. The embargo both banned petroleum exports to the targeted nations and introduced cuts in oil production. Several years of negotiations between oil-producing nations and oil companies had already destabilized a decades-old pricing system, which exacerbated the embargo’s effects. The 1973 Oil Embargo acutely strained a U.S. economy that had grown increasingly dependent on foreign oil. The efforts of President Richard M. Nixon’s administration to end the embargo signaled a complex shift in the global financial balance of power to oil-producing states and triggered a slew of U.S. attempts to address the foreign policy challenges emanating from long-term dependence on foreign oil. (Office of the Historian). Watch the clip below and answer the questions. Refer to Ch 26, The End of the Golden Age subsection for more information. Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VNXzgZ0sCQ

Questions: 1. Are economic or resource embargoes an effective way to make a political

point? How much of an impact did this have on the US in 1973 and did the OPEC nations get their point across through their political action against the support of Israel?

2. Why at this point in time was the US so susceptible to resource embargo? Consider other embargo the US instituted like that against Cuba for decades. Does this video give a wider, different perspective of those actions?

3. Some people argue in favor of opening protected oil reserves in the US national parks to drilling while others focus on more sustainable sources of clean energy. Is the web of globalization the US is tied into bound to create a scenario like this again or is there a way to maintain energy independence?

Sufficient = INITIAL POST should contain 300 words, substantive and addresses the prompt. Each of the the required secondary posts and commentary should EACH be at least 150 words of relevant and substantial responses