April1980 RAIN WJ~ ~vrnrn[D] [illill~mrn ID]~ DRAFT by Dave McFadden Page 15 . .Energy and American Security President Carter's call for renewed draft registration, this time for both men and women, is but the leading edge of a strengthened U.S . commitment to a military buildup and a new cold war. Although carefully couched in terms which downplay any obligation to the actual inductio n of men and women into the Armed Forces, the coupling of Carter's draft registration pronouncement with his articulation of the "Carter doctrine" makes dear his willingness to commit U.S. money, resources, sons and daughters to fight to preserve the flow of Middle Eastern oil to the United States. It should not be lost on those of us concerned about the present crtsis that the justification given for the new U.S. policy is protection and maintenance of our energy supply. We would not be facing a new cold war and the increasing possibility of a U.S.-Soviet confrontation were it not for the overwhelming dependence of the western world on imported oil from the Persian Gulf. The very real danger of war we now face has come about because of simultaneous energy and economIc crises resulting from both an overdependence on non-renewable energy (imported uil in particular) and an increasingly non-productive and ",nergy-draining military sector. The Carter Doctrine: How It Makes Us Less Secure The " Carter Doctrine" essentially states that the Persian Gulf region has become part of America's " vital interests," and that any intervention there by a foreign power shall be resisted by whatever means necessary, including military force. This doctrine, its central place m U.S. defense policy, and Carter's threats to the Soviet Union are only the latest in a series of developments increasing U.s. commitment in the Persian Gulf. It has been clear for some time that the United States considered its Middle East oil supplies part of its " VItal mtercsts." Last year Secretary of Defense Harold Brown told a TV audience that protecting the oil flow from the Middle East " is clearly part of our vital interests" and promJsed "any action that is appropriate, including the use of force." Thr much-vaunted " rapid deployment force" recently proposed by Carter was actually announced by dIe Army last June. And since tht' closing days of the Vietnam War there have been numerous reports of military training in the desert as preparation for Middle East action in the "next war." Throughout these years there have been U.S. arms shipments to North Yemen, Saudi Arabla and Jordan, massive anns sales to the Shah, and an expansion of U.S. naval forces in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Carter's accompanying announcements'of massive increases iD the military budget for the next five years have also been in the works for awhile. Despite promises of a $5 billion cut, Carter has increased Pentagon funding every year of his presidency. The latest five-year plan, for 5 percent increases above inflation every year from 1981 to 1985, will result in a 1985 military budget of oVer $200 billion. (This basic outline was proposed December 13- well before the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.) Increasing our military budget, talking tough to the Soviets, and threatening intervention in the Persian Gulf will not lead to increased U.S. security. More likely, as history has shown, the Soviets will increase their military budget, talk tough to us, and the chances of war will be increased. Moreover, as Richard Barnet, author of Global Reach, has pointed out, the Carter strategy of 115suring access to oil through military bases and forward deployments cannot work because sabotage, terrorism and seizures in other places could jeopardize American interests throughout the world. Military operations provoke reactions which cannot be controlled. Like Vietnam, the Middle East oil problem is being treated 3S a military rather than political challenge. The only real solutions lie in reducing American dependence on foreign oil and in reformulating America's role in the world community from a dommant to an equal partner.
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