• 6 AUGUST - *1907 - Gen. Macario Sakay, one of the Filipino military leaders who had continued fighting the imperialist United States invaders eight years into the Ph...
    11 years ago

......................................................................................

The Daily Tribune

(Without Fear or Favor)

Specials:

Bulatlat.com

World Wildlife Fund for Nature-Philippines

The Philippines Matrix Project

Economic interests behind push for greater US military presence in the region

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Economic interests behind push for greater US military presence in the region


By BENJIE OLIVEROS
Bulatlat.com
If US military presence overseas is about ensuring peace and stability, why did it invade Afghanistan and Iraq, and why is it now provoking Iran? If the US is really serious about pushing for human rights and democracy, why is it constricting civil liberties through the Patriot Act and why is it cracking down on Occupy Wall street activists?

This is because promoting peace, stability, human rights and democracy are not the main reasons for US military presence abroad. It is to give muscle to the push for US economic interests.

This is summed up in an article written by US State Secretary Hillary Clinton with the title “American Pacific Century” in November 2011. She called those demanding for a downsizing of American engagement abroad (read: US military presence) as “misguided.” “From opening new markets for American businesses to curbing nuclear proliferation to keeping the sea lanes free for commerce and navigation, our work abroad holds the key to our prosperity and security at home.”

During the Bush Jr. administration, the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to secure oil and gas pipelines while it invaded Iraq in 2003 to corner the second largest oil reserves in the world. Also, the US intended to stimulate its economy through the production of war materials and reconstruction projects following the occupation. But these did not work and the US government came under pressure from the American public to pull out its troops in both countries.

Initially, the succeeding Obama administration tried to deflect these calls for US troop withdrawal by gradually reducing deployments in Iraq while increasing it in Afghanistan. But the costs of maintaining troops abroad and the pressure being exerted by the economic crisis, worsening unemployment, and the US debt burden forced the Obama administration to reduce government expenditures, including the Department of Defense. The Obama administration’s commitment to reduce expenditures was followed by its announcement that it would refocus its military presence from Iraq and Afghanistan to Asia and the Pacific..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/02/10/economic-interests-behind-push-for-greater-us-military-presence-in-the-region/

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Has somehting to do with closing their bases at Okinawa (Futenma MCAS). At Guam many jobs for construction workers, to expand Anderson AFB wich will become joint base Anderson. In Australia, a Marine base. In Mindanao... is the best model they have.

Anonymous said...

economuc more likely or partly. yes

Blog Archive