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The Carter Doctrine goes global
Progressive, The, Dec, 2004 by Michael T. Klare
But just as U.S. aid to the Caspian states was followed by the insertion of a permanent American military presence in the region, the Department of Defense is beginning to search for permanent bases in Africa. In 2003, the head of the European Command declared that the aircraft carrier battle groups under his command would shorten their visits to the Mediterranean and "spend half their time going down the west coast of Africa"--the location of its most promising offshore oil fields.
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In anticipation that American combat troops will at some point be deployed on the ground in Africa, the Department of Defense is looking for potential basing locations in and around the major oil zones. According to recent media reports, the Pentagon is seeking "barebones facilities"--essentially, airstrips with modest logistical capabilities--in Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, and Uganda. And, while military officials tend to emphasize the threat of terrorism when discussing the need for such facilities, they have told The Wall Street Journal that "a key mission for U.S. forces [in Africa] would be to ensure that Nigeria's oil fields, which in the future could account for as much as 25 percent of U.S. oil imports, are secure."
But ensuring the security of Nigeria's oil fields--or those of other developing countries--would be no easy task. In fact, it is a recipe for more quagmires like Iraq.
The 2003 invasion of Iraq should be viewed as not the first--and certainly not the last--of a long series of wars over the control of foreign oil. These wars are certain to claim an increasing toll in human life and will impose a severe and growing strain on the federal treasury. Members of the Armed Forces face years of dangerous and ignoble work as protectors of pipelines and refineries.
No amount of cheap oil can justify a sacrifice this great. It is time to repudiate the Carter Doctrine and the Bush-Cheney energy plan and begin the necessary--and inevitable--transition to a post-petroleum economy.
Michael T. Klare is a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, and the author of "Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Petroleum Dependency. "
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