The Nation : Hodel Warns of Oil Crisis

Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel warned that decreasing domestic oil production and greater reliance on Persian Gulf petroleum threaten the national security of the United States, and could set up a clash with the Soviet Union. In remarks before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Hodel said that support of “freedom fighters” in Marxist-dominated countries could serve as a deterrent to any Soviet aggression in the Persian Gulf. He said that the “United States is being set up for a major oil price shock” as U.S. production falls and consumption rises.