President Obama’s final decision on Keystone XL is shrouded in mystery.
Some say the president is close to making a call. David Wilkins, the former ambassador to Canada suggested the administration would wait until after Canada’s October elections. In September, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, “In terms of the timing of when a decision would be announced, I just don’t have anything for you.”
Whatever the timing, if President Obama decides against Keystone XL, one thing is clear: He will deal a blow to U.S. national security interests and harm relations with Canada. Americans must send a strong message to the president that this is unacceptable.
In February, President Obama vetoed legislation that would have allowed pipeline construction to begin, saying he wanted to wait for a State Department analysis of the project. But that report still isn’t out — and America can’t afford to wait any longer.
Building Keystone XL is a crucial step to achieving North American energy independence. The pipeline would transport 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada and U.S. oil fields to the Gulf of Mexico. That would strengthen our relationship with Canada, the United States’ biggest trading partner. By 2028, America could fill all of its liquid fuel needs from within North America.
Such independence is vital for U.S. national security.
Every drop of Canadian oil we buy is a drop we aren’t importing from hostile countries. Venezuela — which supplies 9 percent of U.S. oil — has supported the terrorist organization Hezbollah with training and fake travel documents. Vladimir Putin’s Russia — responsible for 4 percent of imports — continues its course of aggression in Europe. Purchasing oil from these countries only finances their efforts to undermine U.S. security interests.
What’s more, by refusing to build Keystone and lifting Iran’s oil sanctions, the United States is harming our most important ally.
Canada is selling more of its oil to India, Japan, and China — partly because the United States has been unreliable with projects like Keystone. Yet the world could soon be awash in Iranian oil thanks to the recent U.S.-led nuclear deal — and that would weaken Canada’s market share.
It’s no wonder that Canada is upset. Keystone XL is “something that all of our political candidates are talking about,” said Canadian energy analyst Erin Flanagan. Feelings in Ottawa toward Washington as the Canadian elections approach have been cooling.
Already, Obama’s treatment of the issue has caused Canadian ministers to refuse to meet with our ambassador. And a rejection could jeopardize Canada’s support for U.S. operations against ISIS and the Russian intervention in Ukraine — undermining U.S. national security efforts.
Meanwhile, observers question whether the Iranian nuclear deal, even if it does forestall an Iranian nuclear weapon, will actually make us safer.
But it’s clear Keystone XL would. Former National Security Advisor James L. Jones testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Keystone is of both economic and “strategic importance to the United States.”
Jones noted that U.S. naval assets are stationed around the Persian Gulf to safeguard oil supplies, and asked: “Why would the United States spend billions…to ensure the flow of energy half a world away but neglect an opportunity to enable the flow of energy in our very own backyard”?
We need to send a message to the Obama Administration — and to the 2016 presidential candidates. It’s time to approve the Keystone pipeline and wean ourselves off Middle East oil once and for all.
Lt. Colonel Dennis Freytes USA (Ret.) is the Florida co-chair of Vets4Energy.
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