Where Have you Gone, James Monroe?

Irwin Stelzer has written a chilling indictment of the administration's energy policy -- or lack thereof. Bush's tough talk at his inauguration, which would seem to put the Saudis on notice, isn't backed by a policy preventing Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company, from squeezing us. Moreover, the administration is fiddling while China strikes attractive deals for oil with Canada, Venezuela, and Iran and while Russia begins to enjoy a resurgence on the world stage thanks to its oil reserves.

Perhaps the state-owned enterprises of Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China will collapse of their own inefficiencies; but, based on the evidence that Stelzer provides, that's a chance we probably don't want to take.