David Gattie
Energy policy is national security—America must act accordingly.
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” It’s an oft-referenced quote, particularly when issues become sufficiently complex and entangled, and direct, simple solutions are out of reach and inappropriate. But it speaks of a highly-valued, if not requisite, cognitive capacity for someone engaged in geopolitics, diplomacy, and statecraft—particularly when it impacts a country’s energy security.
Post-WWII U.S. strategists exhibited this unique cognitive capacity. While the world’s other major powers had been decimated in economic and military power, America occupied a commanding position economically, militarily, and industrially. Rather than retreat to isolationism, the United States made the strategic decision to project its national power globally and promote democratic values, human rights, individual liberty, and free market trade. A strategic objective was to contain the spread of communism by maintaining U.S. competitive advantage as a deterrent to illiberal designs the USSR might have for the world.
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