Ghana

The resource wars that Michael Klare explained have truly begun. It has always existed, but is now going to be the major preoccupation of major powers: USA, China, India, Russia, EU. Currently, Africa supplies us with about 14% of our total oil imports. The USA would like to increase this to 25 % by 2015. The US is now deciding whether they want to install a military base in Ghana to protect the oil flow from West Africa. The role of the military is not to protect us from attack, rather to secure natural resources; what a radical departure from the Clinton years which sought global stability. We now seek to destabilize in order to secure resources.

Now Ghana will attract anti-American elements which will ultimately threaten the stability of the country. I fear it is only a matter of time until the US intervenes in Nigeria; only a few days ago, rebels attacked oil pipelines in southern Nigeria, impeding up to 20% of Nigeria's output; this of course causes the price of oil to increase, resulting in negative pressure on western economies. How long will the USA stand for this, if we are not already involved covertly.

Another example finds American counter terror troops landing in Tblisi, Georgia in 2002 to be stationed in the dangerous Pankisi Gorge area that borders Chechnya. Of course the proximity to the Caspian Sea suggests the inevitable explanation, oil. Not ony does the USA want the oil flowing west, they want to alienate Russia and Iran from drilling and exporting this oil. Instead our newly found allies, Georgia and Azerbaijan, should enjoy this privilege. The US troops were sent to train elite Georgian commandos who had a curious job, protecting the oil pipelines that ran from the Caspian oil fields to western markets. This was part of the war on terror. Were we hunting down hired mujadeen fighters finding refuge in Georgia from Chechnya? It appears not.