Bush
PER
Bush
President Bush on Monday promoted his plan to reduce American dependence on foreign oil by using alternative energy sources, but he did not repeat a promise to cut back on Middle East oil imports that drew complaints from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and was disavowed by his energy secretary. Instead, on a day when oil prices rose to more than $60 a barrel because of militant attacks on oil suppliers in the Niger Delta, Mr. Bush toned down his implicit criticism of countries in the Persian Gulf and spoke of American reliance on foreign oil in more general terms. Mr. Bush proposed in his State of the Union address that the United States replace 75 percent of oil imports from the Middle East with alternative sources of energy by 2025. President Bush on Monday promoted his plan to reduce American dependence on foreign oil by using alternative energy sources, but he did not repeat a promise to cut back on Middle East oil imports that drew complaints from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.  Mr. Bush said in a speech in Milwaukee that some of the nations they relied on for oil had unstable governments, or fundamental differences with the United States. Mr. Bush proposed in his State of the Union address that the United States replace 75 percent of oil imports from the Middle East with alternative sources of energy by 2025.