A RUDDERLESS WHITE HOUSE MISUSING THE MILITARY?

THE ROCHE RECORD

March 21, 2011

Frank Roche

A RUDDERLESS WHITE HOUSE MISUSING THE MILITARY?

Was the US military issued orders to play third fiddle to the French & the UK and join in on the attack of another sovereign nation involved in civil war?  Isn’t one of our allies still taking toll of the damage from a record earthquake and the ensuing tsunami?  Isn’t there a related significant nuclear incident?  Isn’t there an ongoing debate regarding continuing resolutions to fund the government until Congress can get its act together and pass a budget?  Iraq?  Afghanistan?

Aren’t our President and his family on vacation in South America?

Only three more questions.  Is the executive branch of the US government rudderless?  Did the Obama administration adhere more closely to our responsibilities under the UN Charter, Chapter 7, Articles 39-51, rather than to the US War Powers Act?  Is the US military being misused in Libya?   

Compared to the past 60 years of American foreign policy, the current policies we are witnessing in 2011 are remarkable for how uniquely un-American they seem to be.  How uniquely unrelated they seem to be to American security and self-interest.  In the face of unusual uprisings in the Middle East, not to mention a dozen more domestic and international hot topics, the rhetoric from the Obama administration and the left seems all wrong.  We’ve had our ups and downs over the years when it comes to foreign policy as practiced by both Republicans and Democrats.  Though, one could easily argue it was usually clear what our reasons and interests were, who our allies were, who our foes were, what our ideology was.

The United States has had a significant military presence in the Mediterranean (Med), the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf for many decades.  The US Navy, excluding the Gulf War and the war with Iraq, has been the branch of the military most engaged in this part of the globe.  Beginning with the Middle East Force, over the decades the control of that region transferred to both the US 5th & 6th Fleets.  The 5th Fleet, out of Bahrain, controls the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf.  The 6th, out of Naples, Italy controls the Med.  Just a cursory review of the history of US military presence in these areas reveals again another example that American men and women of the US military have long been serving their nation well.

We could draw up a list of many reasons why America has maintained a significant presence in the eastern Med and the Middle East.  However, the two primary reasons for our presence are oil and Israel.  Oil because it is the life blood of our advanced society, and Israel because she was formed as a democracy, has been surrounded mostly by peoples who prefer Israel not be there, and has become one of America’s strongest allies.  We have spent trillions of dollars to build up a military and diplomatic presence to secure supply lines and assure uninterrupted flows of oil and natural gas to the West, to build energy industry infrastructure, and to allow Israel to advance as a society.

Up until this weekend, our military has typically been used in the Middle East when our allies or our oil supplies were threatened directly or indirectly by instability in other nations in the area.  The target of American military action this past weekend makes clear this policy effort is different.

Across North Africa and the Middle East Arab citizens are rising up to unseat long time dictatorial regimes.  We in the West want to believe the goal is to achieve our style of democracy, though we recognize the outcome could be a dangerous Islamic state or two.

Why now?  Why Libya?  Suppositions can be put forth, but conclusions are harder to come by.  What is the Obama administration thinking?  How complex has the decision tree become?  For a man who denigrated military efforts on the campaign trail, how is it Libya is where he decides to pull the trigger?

There are so many unanswered questions right now.  First reports are usually misleading.  It’s better to put the analysis aside for some days more.  Solutions are needed at this time.

We should never shy from the truth of why the US is in the Middle East.  We have our valuable treasure, our fellow citizens, and our way of life on the line.  We’ve invested for decades to assure stability, indirectly for Arab nations, but more directly for America’s energy needs.

We can’t get involved in every civil war erupting in North Africa and the Middle East.  We don’t have the savvy to pick the right side in every conflict.  The prospect of that type of calculation assures blowback down the road.  Sure, where we can we should help fledgling freedom movements when we can determine them as such.  Primarily though, we should be assuring the stable flow of oil and the safety of our democratic allies.

Arab nations in upheaval who also export oil will need that revenue.  At this moment in history the rest of the world, in particular the US, consumes a significant share of that oil.  There is a basic economic relationship that binds us and each party’s self-interest is a powerful force to continue the relationship in a stable way.

We need leaders in Washington who accept this reality.  Yes, it would be great if we here in the US had tens of thousands of wind turbines generating electricity, solar panels gleaming everywhere, and our grass clippings powering our cars.  That day may come, though it isn’t here yet, and it’s not close.

During this time of civil upheaval the US military, led by CENTCOM and the 5th & 6th Fleets, if it is to be used, if it is needed, should primarily be used to protect shipping lanes, oil fields, distribution, and loading and off loading of oil and natural gas.  Not to take ownership and man the pumps mind you.  Rather if needed, to secure and manage for an interim period, one of the world’s most critical products.

This weekend reminds us this is yet another reason for America to throw off the regulatory and environmental shackles and begin the next wave of extraction of oil, natural gas, and coal from within American borders and other locations closer to our home shores.  Let me add the necessary and appropriate caveat:  we should do so in a way that is more friendly to the environment than the way it was done in the early “wild cat” days while continuing the scientific research for other energy resources.

Can you imagine, the US military, third fiddle behind France & the UK to topple a dictator in a fight with his fellow citizens started by his fellow citizens in a country in which we have little interest except the economic relationship related to energy?  Don’t think this heartless.

We can feel for the people of those countries in turmoil, and even more so to the extent we share a shared belief in freedom of religion, a democratic form of government, and free market capitalism.  Yet, when our fellow citizens who volunteer to serve in the military are asked to take action and risk being killed it should be more clearly in our own national interest.

There are pictures of the President on vacation this week.  Something is amiss in White House.  Is the US Government rudderless?  Democrats and liberals would say no.  For others it is hard to be certain.

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