Has America descended to the level that we as a nation have now become convinced that it is our right to invade and occupy other sovereign nations on the pretext of some dire threat to us, and then take over control over their valuable resources? Can these aggressive military actions be justified in any way? Could it be that we have become very comfortable with such actions; that we have accepted these resource wars as a necessity to assure that we do not run out of petroleum and other sources of energy here in America?
The lockstep march of the military and corporate America continues: James Risen's report, NY Times, June 17. "A few high-risk investors are sufficiently intrigued by the country's (Afghanistan) potential to take an early look. JP Morgan, for instance, has just sent a team of mining experts to Afghanistan to examine possible projects to develop." And also, "Afghanistan could be one of the leading producers of copper, gold, lithium and iron ore in the world," said Ian Hannam, a London-based banker and mining expert with JP Morgan. "I believe this has the potential to be transforming for Afghanistan." (And without a doubt, the U.S.).
We'll see how this all works out. We are now witnessing how America's resource wars are being conducted with the military and corporations working together to take control of a nation's resources and then reaping the benefits. First the military does the heavy work and establishes a presence in a country; then tens of thousands of private contractors work with it to stabilize and pacify the population. Then opportunistic corporations such as JP Morgan move in to take control of the resources. Quite a lucrative business plan, wouldn't you say? Well, since America can't manufacture much anymore or do much of anything to add real value to the GDP, these kinds of ventures are becoming the primary business of our nation.
The major impediment to this ambitious plan in Afghanistan just happens to be the Taliban who, you can bet, aren't going to buy into it. We should remember that every previous invading nation has been sent packing in humiliation; therefore, the military/corporate business plan involving these resources would seem to have a very low probability of success. But, just as happened in Vietnam, our visionary "Peace President" and our military leaders will continue to escalate this unwinnable war no matter how many lives of our troops must be needlessly sacrificed or how much destruction is brought upon Afghanistan and Pakistan and its people.
The Pentagon is using this discovery of mineral reserves to further convince the American people that wars are necessary for the survival of America and, therefore, they can be justified. It is masterful at feeding this kind of devious justification for war into the American mind. I will say just this. If the people of America once again buy into believing this claptrap - that war is really not all that bad and has its rewards, then the future of America will be meaningless and irrelevant.
Michael Payne
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