My take is that if the USA decided to do off shore drilling for oil, the price of oil would drop over night. If that happens the economic engine of this country would kick back in and we would be off and running.

This would be a temporary fix. The final and long term fix is an energy source that doesn't rely on oil. No matter what energy source we use, we need to be more conservative about the use of that source. Bicycles, motorcycles, electric cars, and mass trans maybe the thing of the future.

Once oil is not so important, the need to "guard" the middle east becomes less important. Let those who want to stay in the dark ages be let alone to do just that.