Opinion | Echoes of the 1973 Oil Crisis

The attack on Israel on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War should remind us of another anniversary: the 1973 Arab oil embargo. The war began on Oct. 6, and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cut production and raised prices on Oct. 17. By the end of the embargo in March 1974, the global cost of oil had climbed nearly 300%. Service-station lines and “out of gas” signs became a feature of American life. The White House had ration cards printed in secret (fortunately never used), and President Richard Nixon contemplated military action to seize oil fields in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi.