Bad Policies Leave U.S. Vulnerable to Middle East Oil Crisis

The United States is the world's largest oil producer, pumping some 13 million barrels every day. Yet the U.S. is also the biggest consumer of crude, a major exporter, and a country with an empty strategic petroleum reserve. Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm called the U.S. "unusually vulnerable" to an oil shock. Just a month ago, such a shock looked rather unlikely. The war in the Middle East had been going on for a year now, and oil supply had not been disturbed. It all changed this week after Iran carried out a barrage of precision missile…