At the risk of stating the obvious, no nation can afford its people the quality of life, let alone the economic and security benefits, associated with being anadvanced 21st Century society without assured and cost-effective access to energy.
We must not lose sight, however, of the larger problem: The Millennium Bug's potential for devastation of anadvanced, computer-dependent society like that of the late 20th Century United States is not confined to its national security apparatuses.