Securing America's Future Energy

Lugar and Lieberman to be Honorary Co-Chairs for Global Oil Supply Disruption Simulation Exercise 'Oil Shockwave"

Event Features Bipartisan Group of Former White House, Congressional and Industry Officials

WASHINGTON, DC (June 22, 2005)--Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced today that they will serve as honorary co-chairmen of a gathering this week of top former national security officials to assess the possible causes and impacts of major disruptions to the world's oil supply.

The event, Oil ShockWave, will simulate a decline in world oil production due to instability and terrorism, consider likely economic and national security implications, and present the deliberations of a simulated US government cabinet-level meeting whose task is to advise the president regarding a national response. The event, spearheaded by Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE), will take place from 12:30 pm to 6:00 pm on Thursday, June 23rd at The Four Seasons Hotel in Washington.

'This simulation will offer an unprecedented opportunity to study and understand the very serious security implications of the nation's dependence on oil, and I applaud SAFE for undertaking this initiative," said Lugar. 'I look forward to reviewing the findings of this simulation as we work to identify solutions to an increasingly troubling challenge. The issue has dimensions far beyond energy and extends to foreign policy and national security."

'Our country must begin to view oil dependence as a national security issue," said Lieberman. 'This simulation will do a tremendous amount to focus attention on what America's enormous reliance on oil means in an age of global terrorism, and we commend SAFE for spearheading this indispensable work. It is the fundamental reason we have introduced an amendment to the energy bill to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

Oil ShockWave participants will include:

Robert M. Gates, former Director of Central Intelligence;
Richard N. Haass, former Director of Policy Planning at the Department of State and President of the Council on Foreign Relations;
General P.X. Kelley USMC (Ret.), former Commandant of the Marine Corps and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; William Perry, former Secretary of Defense;
Don Nickles, former U.S. Senator (R-OK);
Carol Browner, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
Gene B. Sperling, former National Economic Advisor;
Linda Stuntz, former Deputy Secretary of Energy; and
R. James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence.

The Oil ShockWave executive simulation will use sophisticated video and computer modeling where participants will assume cabinet-level roles, such as Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Homeland Security, in a dynamic, unscripted, real-time environment demonstrating the impacts of major disruptions in the world's oil supply. The event will feature three simulated global oil disruption events, with pre-produced breaking news reports and policy briefings.

SAFE (www.secureenergy.org) is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization committed to actively reducing America's dependence on oil with a strategy addressing business and technology, politics and advocacy, and public education and media.