The oil crisis caused by the recent Arab-Israeli war is affecting the economies of many western nations. Rapidly rising costs are the result of closing the Suez Canal, cutting petroleum pipelines through Syria and Jordan, and the refusal of some Arab states to sell their oil. The United States has a considerable stake in maintaining the flow of Middle Eastern oil to the free world. It is important that the U.S. and other free world governments actively foster a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.