Crude Strategy: Rethinking the US Military Commitment to Defend Persian Gulf Oil

Policymakers and scholars have long assumed the US must maintain a military presence in the Middle East to protect access to Persian Gulf oil. Charles L. Glaser and Rosemary A. Kelanic reconsider this policy based on analyses from a multidisciplinary team of political scientists, historians, and economists. The contributors explore topics that factor in critical changes taking place in oil markets, energy technology, and US defense budgets; potential economic costs of disruptions in oil supply; and possible policy options moving forward.