“All of a sudden, the Strait of Hormuz has become the most combustible spot on the planet, the most likely place to witness a major conflict between well-armed adversaries. Why, of all locales, has it become so explosive?”

Michael Klare, author of the upcoming book The Race for What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources explains why.

photo: An F/A-18C Hornet aircraft launches off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis while in the Arabian Sea. DoD photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Kenneth Abbate, U.S. Navy.

“All of a sudden, the Strait of Hormuz has become the most combustible spot on the planet, the most likely place to witness a major conflict between well-armed adversaries. Why, of all locales, has it become so explosive?”

Michael Klare, author of the upcoming book The Race for What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources explains why.

photo: An F/A-18C Hornet aircraft launches off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis while in the Arabian Sea. DoD photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Kenneth Abbate, U.S. Navy.

boston:

THE BIG PICTURE

Afghanistan, December 2011

- As the transition in Afghanistan draws closer, problems with security, the economy, and cultural mores are growing even more apparent. Included in this monthly look at Afghanistan are images that highlight these issues.

(37 photos total)

govtoversight:

thedailyfeed:

President Obama announced yesterday that defense cuts mandate a “leaner,” more “flexible” military. Here are a few likely targets for cost-cutting. 

A good chart of some possible cuts, but it still leaves out the elephant in the room: defense service contractors.

occupyallstreets:

Local cops use Homeland Security-funded military weapons, including armored cars w/turrets, drones, assault rifles.

North Dakota’s largest city has averaged fewer than two homicides a year since 2005, and there’s not been a single international terrorism prosecution in the last decade.

But that hasn’t stopped authorities in Fargo and its surrounding county from going on an $8 million buying spree to arm police officers with the sort of gear once reserved only for soldiers fighting foreign wars.

Every city squad car is equipped today with a military-style assault rifle, and officers can don Kevlar helmets able to withstand incoming fire from battlefield-grade ammunition. And for that epic confrontation—if it ever occurs—officers can now summon a new $256,643 armored truck, complete with a rotating turret. For now, though, the menacing truck is used mostly for training and appearances at the annual city picnic, where it’s been parked near the children’s bounce house.

Read More

From Democratic Underground via Juan Cole:

“Each star is a US base. But just to be clear, Iran is the one that is threatening us.”

(via usbasesme)

Kevin G. Hall of McClatchy reports:

“Of the 251,287 WikiLeaks documents McClatchy obtained, 23,927 of them — nearly one in 10 — reference oil. Gazprom alone is mentioned in 1,789.

In the cables, U.S. diplomats can be found plotting ways to prevent state entities such as Gazprom from taking control of key petroleum facilities, pressing oil companies to adjust their policies to match U.S. foreign policy goals, helping U.S.-based oil companies arrange deals on favorable terms and pressing foreign governments to assist companies that are willing to do the U.S.’s bidding.”

“If you follow the words, one Middle East comes into view; if you follow the weapons, quite another.” 

This week, President Obama is slated to give a major speech to “reset” his administration’s policies in the new Middle East of the Arab Spring.  However, I note in a new article for TomDispatch, “all signs indicate that the Pentagon will quietly maintain antithetical policies, just as it has throughout the Obama years.  Barring an unprecedented and almost inconceivable policy shift, it will continue to broker lucrative deals to send weapons systems and military equipment to Arab despots.  Nothing indicates that it will be deterred from its course, whatever the president says, which means that President Obama’s reset rhetoric is unlikely to translate into meaningful policy change in the region.”

To give just a single example of the policies that need to come to an end for a real “reset” to take place: “Saudi Arabia… has been cracking down on nonviolent activists at home with increasing vigor.  At the beginning of this month, for example, Human Rights Watch reported the arrest of ‘at least 20 peaceful protesters, including two bloggers.’  Within days, the Obama administration notified Congress of its intent to see the Saudi security forces receive $330 million worth of advanced night vision and thermal-imaging equipment.”

Read the full article here or click the pic of President Obama whispering to Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates’ armed forces.

Photo credit: President Barack Obama talks with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)