ABSTRACT
The vitality of a modern society depends on reliable supplies of energy in adequate amounts and at reasonable prices. Energy is such a key input that consumers will surely try to limit the overall price increases and, in particular, to avoid sharp price jumps. Extraordinary efforts to improve energy efficiency as well as to accelerate the development-of-supply options are needed in this regard. Some people might object that Schlesinger focused unduly on the Middle East in his observation and in his conclusion that the geostrategic landscape has been and is being altered in a fashion inimical to North Atlantic Treaty Organization interests. The various allies have widely differing degrees of vulnerability and perceive the dynamics and dangers in the crucial producing region of the Middle East in widely differing ways. Discussions might be initiated in the Defense Planning Committee (DPC) or a special subgroup of the DPC.
