While I do agree that we should drill much more than the fedgov currently allows, if we produce more of our own oil, other countries will still buy from the Saudis. Actually, not that much of our oil comes from the Middle East - we import more from Mexico, Venezuala, and Nigeria.
Not actually true, we get more from Saudi Arabia than Nigeria or Venezuela.
Data from March 2004 (in thousands of barrels per day)
CANADA.............................1,583
MEXICO..............................1,576
SAUDI ARABIA..................1,478
NIGERIA..............................1,417
VENEZUELA.......................1,343
IRAQ.......................................621
ANGOLA................................336
UNITED KINGDOM..............293
ALGERIA................................253
NORWAY...............................217
KUWAIT.................................214
GABON...................................108
COLOMBIA............................105
ECUADOR................................95
EQUATORIAL GUINEA..........93
Total crude oil imports averaged 10.254 million barrels per day in March. Only the top 15 listed above.
Last year first quarter, Saudi Arabia was our #1 supplier