If we had energy independence, we would then care less about who runs the Middle East.
It should have been the top national priority after the Arab Oil Embargo in 1973.
Energy independence is not something you conjure up. Literally trillions in subsidies later, no one has come up with a way to produce gasoline cheaper than from oil or with a viable alternative fuel to gasoline that matches it on price and versatility. At $200 per barrel, we are energy independent, because a huge chunk of our deposits are economically viable at that price. But $200 oil will crush the economy. Because whether we are buying it from the Middle East or domestically, $200 oil is well above what the country can afford without going into recession.