Just got up-to-date with the Corner, and thus read Derb’s last post on the subject (from 6:47 am). Two points:

1) The U.S. would not go to war with any regime because it refused to sell oil to some countries or even because it refused to sell oil to us. The Iraq and Afghan wars do nothing to make this fantastic scenario more plausible.

2) It remains unclear why you’re worried about American dependence on Mideast oil given the other premises you’ve put in place (if, for example, the ability of Mideastern regimes to hurt other countries’ economies has been “much exaggerated”).

My view remains that sound policy should aim at keeping radical anti-American regimes from being able to sell a large share of the world’s oil at state-cartel prices.