By Horace Cooper

FrontPageMagazine.com | November 12, 2001

Today marks the 83rd celebration of Veteran's Day, and millions of Americans will pause to reflect on all of the sacrifices these brave men and women in uniform have made to protect our way of life. This year, those events and celebrations will be especially poignant as we consider the acts of heroism by a new generation of men and women defending us in Afghanistan.

However, our duty to honor American veterans doesn't end on November 13. As the terrorist attacks on September 11 make clear, a commitment to our men and women in uniform should be a year 'round activity. Those that are willing to sacrifice their own lives to protect you and me are a breed above and should be treated as such.

Our heroes who used to wear a uniform have a lot to offer America if we're willing to accept their counsel. Recently a group of veterans formed a new organization to plead for the Senate to reconsider its opposition to exploring in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But are we listening?

Two weeks ago, leaders of the American Legion, Vietnam Veterans Institute, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, Gold Star Wives of America, Catholic War Veterans and Survivors of Pearl Harbor (which represent over 5 million veterans nationwide) came to Washington to urge Senator Daschle to recognize the security implications of our nation's foreign energy dependence.

America imports nearly 60 percent of its oil. Is it any wonder that analysts all around are starting to see the inherent dangers in this policy? Former CIA Director James Woolsey says that we're going to have to do soul searching to find out why we didn't see Sept. 11 coming and prevent it. At a minimum, he argues, we must re-examine our reliance on Middle East oil. And as Senator Stevens of Alaska notes, "There is no question today, because of the security crisis we face and our dependence upon foreign oil, the oil from Alaska's north slope is a national security issue." Last week President Bush ordered 70 million barrels of oil be put into the National Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Even now as our troops fight in Afghanistan, we are reminded of the consequences of our Middle East energy dependence. Former President Ronald Reagan said that facts are stubborn things. Here are several really stubborn facts to think about: a contemporary 17,500-soldier U.S. Army armored division uses twice as much oil daily than an entire 200,000-soldier field army did during World War II. Also, today the Department of Defense accounts for nearly 80 percent of all U.S.government energy use. And finally, today's modern soldier requires eight times the amount of oil as his WWII counterpart 50 years ago.

Despite this, some of the same stale arguments are being repeated as excuses to prevent ANWR's use. We are told over and over again that exploration is incompatible with environmentalism. And unfortunately, the issue has even turned partisan. When the pipeline in Alaska was first created, there was bipartisan support. Serious-minded men like Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson understood the national security implications of energy dependence. During the debate on the Alaska oil pipeline amendment, Senator Jackson, then Energy Committee Chairman, acknowledged that construction of the pipeline ``involves a national security issue.'' He said, ``There is no serious question today that it is urgently in the national interest to start north slope oil flowing to markets.'' As the veterans remind us, how much more so is this true today? Unfortunately, Senator Daschle and a handful of Senate Democrats are single-handedly preventing the proposal from passing.

Even after nearly 30 years and over 13 billion barrels of oil, there are more than 4 times the number of caribou in that area of Alaska compared to the years before the oil pipeline. Apparently, taking it on faith without regard to the evidence, we still hear from those who claim that exploration is environmentally unsafe. The evidence is in. As the recent judgement in the Exxon Valdez reminds us, the pipeline is a far safer and environmentally friendlier way to transport oil.

What does our unwillingness to meet more of our own energy needs tell many of the countries we're calling on for assistance in the war against terrorism? Aren't we sending mixed signals by allowing foreign governments to have so much influence on the American economy and our foreign policy? And how do we honor our veterans if we ignore their advice and thereby put at risk a new generation of soldiers? Senator Daschle, we're waiting for a response.

Horace Cooper is a senior fellow with the Centre for New Black Leadership.