New Pentagon War Vision

[illbill]

<snip>Pentagon transformation is well underway. The U.S. military is increasingly being converted into a global oil protection service. Secretary of War Donald Rumsfeld has a "strategy guy" whose job is to teach this new way of warfare to high-level military officers from all branches of services and to top level CIA operatives. Thomas Barnett is a professor at the Navy War College in Rhode Island. He is author of the controversial book The Pentagons New Map that identifies a "non-integrating gap" in the world that is resisting corporate globalization. Barnett defines the gap as parts of Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Central Asia all of which are key oil-producing regions of the world. <snip>

Full article: http://www.realopinion.com/realboards/showthread.php?t=1368

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. Seems Rummie's doing a pretty crappy job

the oil from Iraq was a lot cheaper when Saddam was running things. Plus if anyone was killed in the process, it was his own people.

Here we are 2 years later and we've already lost a 1000+ Americans, not to mention the 10,000+ injured. In addition, we have spent over 200 billion dollars and we can't keep the oil flowing in one country. What's wrong with this picture?

[kuozzman]

2. Other top priority: Militarize space

http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/space20010111.html
http://www.oft.osd.mil/library/library_files/document_383_ElementsOfTransformation_LR.pdf

"It is inevitable mankind will weaponize space, and equally likely that weaponization will occur with maturing of specific technologies over the next 30 years. The first country to put weapons in space may also be the last, because it will be in a position to deny the use of space to lagging competitors.” -Lt. Col. Thomas Bell, in a 1999 paper for the Air War College

On January 11th, 2001, Chairman Donald Rumsfeld released the Report of the Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization (Link under “Reports”). This report lays out in great detail just how big of a role space will play in U.S. national security capabilities in decades to come. Here are some notable things listed in their conclusions:

*Use the nation’s potential in space to support its domestic, economic, diplomatic and national security objectives.
*Develop and deploy the means to deter and defend against hostile acts directed at U.S. space assets and against the uses of space hostile to U.S. interests.
*U.S. national security space interests be recognized as a top national security priority. *The only way to receive this priority is through specific guidance and direction from the very highest government
*U.S. Government—in particular, the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community—is not yet arranged or focused to meet the national security space needs of the 21st century.
*The two officials primarily responsible and accountable for those programs are the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence. Only if they do so will the armed forces, the Intelligence Community and the National Command Authorities have the information they need to pursue our deterrence and defense objectives successfully in this complex, changing and still dangerous world.
*Employ space systems to help speed the transformation of the U.S. military into a modern force able to deter and defend against evolving threats directed at the U.S. homeland, its forward deployed forces, allies and interests abroad and in space.
*Develop revolutionary methods of collecting intelligence from space to provide the President the information necessary for him to direct the nation’s affairs, manage crises and resolve conflicts in a complex and changing international environment.
*Create and sustain within the government a trained cadre of military and civilian space professionals.

The following quotes were taken from the main body of the text:
*The U.S. is more dependent on space than any other nation.
*In July 2000, the Xinhua news agency reported that China’s military is developing methods and strategies for defeating the U.S. military in a high-tech and space-based future war.
*The U.S. is an attractive candidate for a “Space Pearl Harbor.”
*The U.S. must participate actively in shaping the space legal and regulatory environment.
*No relationship…touching on national security space is as important as the one between the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence.

Nov 2003 Air Force releases “The U.S. Transformation Flight Plan”
http://www.oft.osd.mil/library/library_files/document_200_usaf_transformation_Pub_Release.pdf

The Air Force Transformation Flight Plan lays out the Service’s ongoing transformation efforts, which, in concert with the other Services, will help achieve the effects required by the Joint Force Commander.
The ongoing transformation of the Air Force will enable the Joint Force Commander to:
*Achieve decision cycle dominance to strike adversaries before they can mount an effective defense
*Deny sanctuary to adversaries through time-critical targeting
*Maximize the power, lethality, and flexibility of a truly joint force
*Penetrate and defeat the next generation of advanced air defense systems to sustain air superiority into the foreseeable future
*Strike targets anywhere on the globe in a timely manner
*Protect space systems and deny space to adversaries, if necessary

These capabilities will not only revolutionize high intensity combat operations, but also enable the United States to face new non-conventional threats and the future security environment. For example:
*Rapid global attack, rapid global mobility, persistent ISR, standoff, ballistic and cruise missile defense, information operations, and stealthy air defense penetration capabilities will counter various anti-access strategies by adversaries.
*Information superiority, non-lethal, and rapid global mobility capabilities will greatly enhance future urban operations.
*Rapid global attack, loitering munition, information superiority, and rapid global mobility capabilities will be essential in the ongoing global war on terrorism.
*Ballistic and cruise missile defense and force protection capabilities will protect US forces from new technologies available to adversaries and defend the US homeland.

[AlbizuX]

3. funny

identifies the gap as parts of Latin America, AFrica, Middle East, and Asia...

umm....most of the world!

[enough]

4. Leviathan

snip>

In order to implement this new military vision," Barnett maintains that the U.S. military must move away from its often-competing mix of Air Force-Navy-Army-Marines toward two basic military services. One he names Leviathan, which he defines as the kick ass, wage war, special ops, and not under the purview of the international criminal court. Give us your angry, video game-playing 18-19 year olds, for the Leviathan force, Barnett says. Once a country is conquered by Leviathan, Barnett says the U.S. will have to have a second military force that he calls Systems Administration. This force he describes as the "proconsul" of the empire, boots on the ground, the police force to control the local populations. This group, Barnett says, "will never come home."

Barnettˆs plan is essentially underway today. New fast, flexible, and efficient projection forces with "lily pad" bases are now being developed for control of the gap. Over the next decade, the military will abandon 35% of the Cold War-era bases it uses abroad as it seeks to expand the network of bare-bones sites in the gap. The planned changes, once completed, will result in the most profound "reordering" of U.S. military forces overseas since the current global arrangements were set 50 years ago.

[acmavm]

5. I'm waiting for the day when the rest of the world draws straws to see who

gets the honor and pleasure of nuking our stupid asses off the face of the earth. With this crowd in charge I'm sure the topic comes up often. I can't see Russia, China, Germany, France, or Great Britian for that matter, tolerating us operating at will as a rouge nation destabilizing entire sections of the planet.

Rumsfeld is a psycho old bastard but this whole plan belongs to them all, all the neocons. He is just the front man for the whole fiasco.

[Vitruvius]

8. Not necessary. The rest of the world is loaning Bu$h the money to finance

the budget deficits to finance his empire; over 70% of the financing for the US deficit comes from abroad. All they have to do is stop lending -- and Bu$h's empire is toast. And if they demand repayment, our economy collapses.

You cannot build an empire on a credit card. Not even if you're George W. Bu$h.

[LevelB]

6. Global Oil Protection

Global Oil Protection, Global Oil Protection. Hmmmm. This is ringing a bell..... What would be a good abbreviation for this? Gotta reach deep for this one. ;-)

B.

[newyawker99]

10. Hi LevelB!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[mulethree]

7. Link to this guy's CSPAN presentation

Interesting piecw, about 2 1/2 hours

rtsp://cspanrm.fplive.net/cspan/project/ter/ter122004_barnett.rm

or

http://www.cspan.org/Search/advanced.asp?AdvancedQueryText=Thomas+Barnett&StartDateMonth=&StartDateYear=&EndDateMonth=&EndDateYear=&Series=&ProgramIssue=&QueryType=&QueryTextOptions=&ResultCount=10&SortBy=bestmatch

and the 'CSPAN Special:Thomas P M Barnet..... link

[mockingbich]

9. My God this stuff scares me to death

I was a military brat growing up and was stationed all over the world. Back then, the Soviet Empire was the reason for deployments. All the US troops were proud to serve against a defined enemy.

But now, there is no way our military guys n gals will voluntarily continue to suffer these pointless deployments with no end game. Where does the pentagon plan to get it's imperial force without a draft. Will they start to recruit foreigners into our military and create a super one-world police force?

[mulethree]

12. Yeah, so much for democracy and tolerance

I enjoyed the presentation, and its full of good thinking.

But theres an underlying message which is put forward as 'a given' and is real disturbing.

That this is a transition in a long process of globalization and the whole international policy of the US is about globalization. The enemy are those who are not sold on, and moving their nations towards, globalization.

Our huge military is a globalist tool, our job exportation - a globalist tool, our media - a globalist tool. Supported via support of our national debt. When you see deficits rising, it is likely a sign that 'the globalists' are especially approving of current policies?

[HamdenRice]

11. If you are horrified by a continuation of Iraq War and oil police ...

then please support the formation of an Iraq War forum, here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2929744