The quest for oil can be seen as a defining principle of global US foreign policy, an imperative which has shaped and redefined the practice of American diplomacy, especially in the wake of 9/11, which raised questions about the stability of global oil resources. In "Energy and US Foreign Policy", Ahmed Mahdi relates the military expansion of the world's biggest superpower to its quest to gain guaranteed and secure access to the world's most important commodity. Examining the foreign policy of George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, culminating in the unprecedented military campaigns of the latter, Mahdi demonstrates how and why oil has played a central role in US relations with the wider world. By dissecting the failures of the US to secure its own economic and energy interests, and by demonstrating the devastating impact this has had on the rest of the world, especially in the Middle East, Mahdi offers vital analysis for researchers and students of International Relations, Diplomacy, Security and Energy Studies.

Introduction 1. Foreign Energy Resources in the Post-Cold War Decade: The Democracy Conundrum, Regional Diversification, and an Ad Hoc Policy on Energy Resources 2. The Unilateral Oilman: Energy Procurement in George W. Bush's Foreign Policy(January-September 2001) 3. Anti-Terrorism Melds with Energy Procurement: How the 11 September Attacks Affected the Quest for Foreign Oil 4. 'A big Shot' and 'A Lot of Money': Operation Iraqi Freedom and US Foreign Energy Policy Conclusion: Overstretch, the Decline of Energy Security and the Fall of the American Empire