Pentagon

Sun, 2011-09-25 12:13Steve Horn
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Pentagon Back to Tried and True PR Tactic - Greenwashing

The Pentagon public relations and propaganda machine is at it again. Working overtime to convince pundits and citizens of the benevolence of its "democracy spreading" missions abroad,  some notables have drank the kool-aid. 

In a recent article titled, "The military’s historic embrace of smart energy," Grist's David Roberts wrote, 

The U.S. military's embrace of energy efficiency and renewable energy is going to be one of the great stories of the coming decade. It will be a story about technology, the changing face of warfare, geopolitics in the 21st century, and the struggle to change one of the world's largest bureaucracies...For decades, the lines of warfare on climate change and clean energy have been drearily familiar and amazingly resistant to change. If it follows through on its promises, the Department of Defense -- the largest consumer of oil and electricity in America -- has the potential to change all that.

Furthermore, in March 2010, the Center for American Progress penned a holistic report titled, "It’s Easy Being Green: The Pentagon Goes Green One Wedge at a Time."

While a nice and hopeful sentiment, this flies in the face of both history, as well as present day reality of the Pentagon's activities abroad. A review, then, is in order.

Read more: Pentagon Back to Tried and True PR Tactic - Greenwashing
Wed, 2011-09-14 06:15Steve Horn
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Seamless Transition: Pentagon Spokesman Geoff Morrell Moves to BP America

Last week, BP America hired former Department of Defense spokesman, Geoff Morrell, as its head of communications.

The move sheds light on the central tenet of American national security policy dating back to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's not-so-well-known, but crucial 1945 meeting with then King of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud. That is, what Hampshire College Professor of Peace and World Security Studies, Michael Klare, calls a foreign policy of "Blood for Oil," which was outlined in full as such vis-a-vis the 1980 "Carter Doctrine," presented as part of President Jimmy Carter's 1980 State of the Union Address.

During that speech, Carter stated (emphases mine), 

Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.

The Carter Doctrine made it clear that domination over the procurement of the resources of the Persian Gulf (a.k.a. oil) was a national security issue for the United States, and thus, an issue largely in the hands of the Pentagon.

A historical case study of the Carter Doctrine in action, predating its official announcement, is the BP-orchestrated 1953 U.S. Central Intelligence Agency/British MI6 coup of then Iranian Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh. Contemporary case studies include the current military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.   

The new job for Morrell, then, is less anything "new," and more so, a textbook example of the revolving door and "blood for oil" in-action.

Read more: Seamless Transition: Pentagon Spokesman Geoff Morrell Moves to BP America
Fri, 2011-06-17 04:45Farron Cousins
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Pentagon Releases New Clean Energy Strategy

The U.S. Department of Defense has released a new strategy for how the U.S. military will address growing concerns over energy consumption. The military remains the single largest consumer of energy in the world, and accounts for 1% of total consumption in the United States. As concerns continue to mount over oil prices and the instability of oil-rich countries in the Middle East, the Pentagon is looking for new methods to continue to meet the energy demands of the military.

The U.S. military currently relies on fossil fuels for almost all of their energy needs, spending more than $13 billion annually just on fuel. Military operations accounted for 121 million barrels of oil alone, which does not include the amount used for domestic activities such as military housing operations and transports. But the Department of Defense has known for years that their current path is not sustainable, and raised the alarm over peak oil long before the U.S. Department of Energy. Their new report shows that they are actively working to switch to renewable energy sources, and away from dirty oil sourced from unstable parts of the globe.

Read more: Pentagon Releases New Clean Energy Strategy
Mon, 2007-08-20 09:37Bill Miller
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Global warming cited as a cause of strife in Darfur and elsewhere

A growing consensus of scientists and others says greenhouse gases are causing civil wars in places like Sudan and Afganistan. The conflicts are aggravated by a scarcity of resources due to floods and drought, which are caused by climate change.

Read more: Global warming cited as a cause of strife in Darfur and elsewhere
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