FDD Welcomes Energy Security Expert Robert Zubrin as Fellow

“Robert Zubrin argues persuasively that the most effective weapon we have in the war on terrorism is our ability to cut off our enemies’ source of funding — the petro-dollars flowing back through the Middle East and into the accounts of our sworn enemies,” said FDD President Clifford D. May.  “Fortunately, we have a way to break the oil monopoly by mandating a fast transition to Flexible Fuel Vehicles.  Unfortunately, we have not yet summoned the courage and the political will to do so.”

“FDD is pleased to continue our work on energy security with a leading energy expert like Robert Zubrin,” said FDD Chief Operating Officer, Mark Dubowitz.  “Robert joins FDD Distinguished Advisor Ambassador Jim Woolsey and our coalition partners in the Set America Free Coalition (www.setamericafree.org) in helping FDD educate policymakers and the American public about the national security and environmental benefits from terror-free alternatives to oil.”

A nuclear engineer, Robert Zubrin is the president of Pioneer Astronautics, which focuses on aerospace research and development. He holds a doctorate in engineering and has nine U.S. patents granted or pending.  He is the author of four non-fiction books, three works of fiction, and numerous articles in such publications as Scientific American, New Atlantis, American Enterprise, the New York Times and the Washington Post.

On December 22, at 7 p.m. (rebroadcast 10 p.m. on December 31) he will appear on C-SPAN to discuss his new book, Energy Victory, in which he argues that Congress should pass a law requiring that all new cars sold in the United States be flex-fueled (able to run on a gasoline, alcohol or a mixture of these and other fuels).  The result would be 50 million cars on U.S. roads within three years that are not reliant on foreign oil and an equal number of flex-fuel cars overseas. Entrepreneurs would bring to market a variety of alternative fuels, breaking of the oil monopoly.

As a fellow with FDD, Robert Zubrin will conduct research, write and work to educate lawmakers, the policy community, the media and the public on the importance and practicality of ensuring energy security by breaking our nation’s reliance on foreign oil.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies is a non-profit, non-partisan policy institute dedicated exclusively to promoting pluralism, defending democratic values and fighting the ideologies that drive terrorism.  Founded shortly after the attacks of 9/11, FDD combines policy research, democracy and counterterrorism education, strategic communications and investigative journalism in support of its mission.  For more information, please visit www.defenddemocracy.org.