This article tries to address the significance of Obama's recent signing of the National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order. In the past such orders have been issued when war was imminent, but this one specifies that it can be executed in peacetime. This author suggests that it was formulated to deal with a crisis with Iran. Nowadays it seems they don't need an authorization from Congress to start a war.
The timing of the Order -- with little fanfare -- could not be explained. Opinions among the very first bloggers on the purpose of the unexpected Executive Order run the gamut from the confused to the absurd. None focus on the obvious sudden need for such a pronouncement: oil and its potential for imminent interruption.