A Marine

Vietnam vet and FedEx founder Frederick Smith wants to craft an energy policy for America.

What made you get involved with the issue of energy security?

Smith: The country’s continued and increasing dependence on imported petroleum has created an enormous economic and national-security risk probably second only to terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Our country has not developed any cogent energy policy for a number of years.

Second to terrorism? Is it that prominent a security challenge?

We ran simulations that showed quite dramatically that very small reductions in supply end up having enormous implications for the U.S. economy and our international security situation. The one we did last spring showed that oil could easily run up to $150 a barrel.

Newsweek