March 2, 2021
America's Strategic Materials Problem
The U.S. government has been trying to secure strategic materials by categorizing them as protected from foreign predatory practices, expanding domestic production, and strategic stockpiling.
by Brent Sadler
During the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, the belligerents attacked neutral shipping in the Persian Gulf, putting the free world’s oil supply at risk. The Cold War was still very cold, and the United States and its allies were reliant on Persian Gulf oil to drive their economies and militaries.
To safeguard the supply of this strategic resource, Washington initiated Operation Earnest Will on July 24, 1987. It was, and remains, the largest maritime convoy operation since World War II. The cost to the Navy was thirty-seven sailors killed, more than thirty injured and two warships severely damaged.
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/america%E2%80%99s-strategic-materials-problem-179144
