re: Chavez Threatens US Oil Cutoff
Not to forget
That the countries selling the oil also needs the income. Many Arab nations use the money to buy and inport food and other necessities. In some cases where the US has a six month reserve the Arab nations have 3-6 weeks of food stocks.
Enough countries are selling oil who hare not linked into "groups" to make a combined effort to deny the US oil a very difficult thing to do.
Ultimately if such an embargo could be organized the US and other western powers would take the oil by military means.
This is one of reasons there hasn't been a repeat of the 73 oil embargo.