The U.S. government spends $638,000,000,000 ($638 billion) per year on its defense budget, with $507,000,000,000 ($507 billion) of that cost spent upon Persian Gulf operations which situate U.S. military bases next to all major middle eastern oil sources. Ironically, the cost to secure and defend these oil sites is nearly 10x more expensive than the oil itself as the U.S. consumes only $56,000,000,00 ($56 billion) of oil annually. This massive offset cost is deemed necessary by the U.S. government to ensure the security of oil and to maintain its stability, making certain that oil is never again compromised as it was during the 1970’s when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to cut off the flow of oil imported into the U.S.. The U.S. military occupies these regions on paper to defend democracy, but the truth is that these sites are only occupied to defend against the problem of the consolidation of oil