1 00:00:11,85 --> 00:00:18,44 I wanted to start tonight actually not about military bases but over the last month 2 00:00:18,75 --> 00:00:18,91 I'm 3 00:00:18,92 --> 00:00:24,45 a civilian member of the board of directors at coffee strong. And the organization 4 00:00:24,46 --> 00:00:25,03 is called G.I. 5 00:00:25,04 --> 00:00:31,66 Voice and over the last month we've had an incredible sea change at Joint Base 6 00:00:31,67 --> 00:00:34,24 Lewis McChord ever since the pan to 7 00:00:34,25 --> 00:00:41,14 a massacre the attention of the world has really been focused on Joint 8 00:00:41,15 --> 00:00:45,54 Base Lewis McChord. And a lot of the things that 9 00:00:45,64 --> 00:00:50,56 a lot of the Iraq. And Afghan vets have been saying for the last three years since 10 00:00:50,57 --> 00:00:56,99 we were founded on Election Day two thousand and eight. Has come to pass and is now 11 00:00:57,74 --> 00:01:01,10 very well known in the world's media and C.N.N. C.B.S. 12 00:01:01,11 --> 00:01:06,95 Everybody was there and right now we can save for certainty that the whole world is 13 00:01:06,96 --> 00:01:12,88 watching. Lewis McChord and we have an amazing situation in 14 00:01:12,89 --> 00:01:19,50 a Limpia where we have a very large progressive antiwar community in 15 00:01:19,51 --> 00:01:23,42 a Limpia Tacoma exciter a side by side with 16 00:01:23,43 --> 00:01:30,28 a very very large military base community and there are very few places 17 00:01:30,43 --> 00:01:36,82 in the country where you can say that that opportunity for dialogue for outreach 18 00:01:37,76 --> 00:01:40,30 is there and so it's 19 00:01:40,31 --> 00:01:46,34 a really important time and instead of the deployments to Afghanistan. 20 00:01:48,16 --> 00:01:54,18 Rolling down the rolling up we have four thousand four thousand more 21 00:01:54,73 --> 00:02:01,55 soldiers being deployed from J B L M Over the next month or so and 22 00:02:01,56 --> 00:02:05,63 so this idea that somehow everything is going to be over in two thousand and 23 00:02:05,64 --> 00:02:11,45 fourteen there's nothing to worry about is really reading fall we see the war at 24 00:02:11,46 --> 00:02:13,41 home. Around 25 00:02:13,42 --> 00:02:20,21 a Limpia we see the accidents we see the domestic violence the suicide P.T.S.D. 26 00:02:20,86 --> 00:02:24,98 All of the results of war we see the helicopters overhead we hear the artillery 27 00:02:24,99 --> 00:02:30,76 fire. And so the war really is at home and I think the more we bring out that 28 00:02:30,77 --> 00:02:35,08 connection and the more we stand with some of the soldiers who are dissenting the 29 00:02:35,09 --> 00:02:39,37 better. For all of us I wanted to open with 30 00:02:39,38 --> 00:02:43,84 a point related to Afghanistan I was teaching 31 00:02:43,85 --> 00:02:50,49 a program at Evergreen food place and culture and I started researching 32 00:02:51,04 --> 00:02:57,79 pomegranates So I wanted to share just six minutes it's my first Powerpoint 33 00:02:57,80 --> 00:03:04,09 poem so. Be patient I'm not sure it will work so well but. 34 00:03:05,11 --> 00:03:11,93 This is from an experience I had coming back from Canada if years ago it's called 35 00:03:11,94 --> 00:03:17,98 pomegranates and grenades pomegranate soda taste pretty good that's right on 36 00:03:17,99 --> 00:03:20,63 a visit to Canada a few years ago why not take 37 00:03:20,64 --> 00:03:24,99 a couple of twelve packs back home in our car nothing to declare when we pass 38 00:03:24,100 --> 00:03:29,27 through the border only to discover to our horror there during the war on terror we 39 00:03:29,28 --> 00:03:35,76 had smuggled into crates of grenades you see in bilingual Canada all products have 40 00:03:35,77 --> 00:03:40,16 to be labeled in both English and French so it's pomegranate on one side and corn 41 00:03:40,17 --> 00:03:45,85 on the on the other after perplexing why someone would name a fruit after 42 00:03:45,86 --> 00:03:47,11 a weapon I did 43 00:03:47,12 --> 00:03:52,36 a little Wikipedia eyes and found out it was the other way around French soldiers 44 00:03:52,37 --> 00:03:57,19 in the sixteenth century named their cool new exploding ball after the French word 45 00:03:57,20 --> 00:04:01,65 for pomegranate the Granted years thought their invention resembled the size and 46 00:04:01,66 --> 00:04:06,70 shape of the fruit whose blood red juicy seeds resembled the soon to be bloodied 47 00:04:06,71 --> 00:04:12,63 shrapnel in many other languages the pomegranate and grenade came to share similar 48 00:04:12,83 --> 00:04:19,26 or identical terms in Spanish and the city in Spain because I'm not an Italian 49 00:04:19,27 --> 00:04:24,71 Polish and Russian even though you moan in Hebrew the pomegranate give its life and 50 00:04:24,72 --> 00:04:29,87 the grenade taketh away by cutting through the skin and puncturing internal organs 51 00:04:29,87 --> 00:04:36,36 . Each pomegranate has about six hundred seeds in case by Errol's or tiny sacks of 52 00:04:36,37 --> 00:04:42,88 juice the proper way to extract the url's is to first carefully cut off the calyx 53 00:04:42,89 --> 00:04:49,51 or crown second lightly scored the leathery rind into quarters third gently pull 54 00:04:49,52 --> 00:04:54,02 apart the fruit to expose Errol's and forth peacefully pluck them out from the 55 00:04:54,03 --> 00:04:58,63 white membrane. Preparing a pomegranate is like disarming 56 00:04:58,67 --> 00:05:04,01 a grenade if you push in the calyx you have armed the striker lever lever if you 57 00:05:04,02 --> 00:05:08,61 violently tear apart the fruit or cut too deeply into it the arrows will be 58 00:05:08,62 --> 00:05:13,91 punctured they will bleed red stains they will scream and cry they will die 59 00:05:15,52 --> 00:05:19,80 the original homeland of the pomegranate stretches from India to Iran through 60 00:05:19,81 --> 00:05:24,72 Afghanistan and Pakistan its spread across the red and Mediterranean season each in 61 00:05:24,73 --> 00:05:31,64 times and was worshiped by all peoples who ate it succulent fruit to the Romans 62 00:05:31,68 --> 00:05:36,72 it was pomegranate juice or seeded Apple whose treat could live up to two hundred 63 00:05:36,73 --> 00:05:42,87 years to the Egyptians it symbolized everlasting life and was buried with King Tut 64 00:05:43,64 --> 00:05:48,99 like the Phoenicians they grew pomegranates for religious purposes to the Greeks it 65 00:05:49,00 --> 00:05:54,21 symbolized love and fertility and the blood of death Juno and Aphrodite offered the 66 00:05:54,22 --> 00:05:59,79 sensuous food in marriage and Greek brides were its twigs in their hair but Hades 67 00:05:59,80 --> 00:06:04,81 also tricked perception into eating for pomegranate seeds thus creating the four 68 00:06:04,82 --> 00:06:08,82 barren months of winter to the Jews the pomegranate was 69 00:06:08,84 --> 00:06:14,45 a blessing fruit its Calyx the source of the design for King David's crown it seed 70 00:06:14,46 --> 00:06:19,98 symbolizing the six hundred thirteen myths vote or commandments of the. To the 71 00:06:19,98 --> 00:06:24,54 Christians the seated Apple may have been the fruit that tempted Eve in the Garden 72 00:06:24,55 --> 00:06:30,14 of Eden it stood for suffering resurrection and the blood of martyrs. 73 00:06:31,91 --> 00:06:36,25 To the Muslims the fruit is associated with the garden of paradise and was 74 00:06:36,26 --> 00:06:42,33 a favorite of the Prophet Muhammad it is still used today in red pepper spread in 75 00:06:42,34 --> 00:06:47,37 Syria to bully in turkey and chicken stew in Iran 76 00:06:50,19 --> 00:06:52,55 to the Americans the pomegranate is 77 00:06:52,56 --> 00:06:58,43 a lifesaving food an alligator of health an instrument of war and 78 00:06:58,44 --> 00:07:02,98 a tool of occupation when there towers were toppled by 79 00:07:02,99 --> 00:07:08,10 a flying army the Americans invaded the homeland of the pomegranate bringing the 80 00:07:08,11 --> 00:07:13,62 fruits namesake as part of their vast arsenal the grenade machine gun had its first 81 00:07:13,63 --> 00:07:15,84 use in Afghanistan where it became 82 00:07:15,88 --> 00:07:21,73 a very popular weapon against the Taliban pomegranates themselves still grew along 83 00:07:21,74 --> 00:07:27,49 the Arghandab River in Khandahar province the Pashtun heartland of the Taliban the 84 00:07:27,50 --> 00:07:28,65 strategists of U.S. 85 00:07:28,66 --> 00:07:30,33 Counter insurgency look to them as 86 00:07:30,34 --> 00:07:36,01 a lucrative cash crop that could lure Afghan farmers away from growing opium 87 00:07:36,02 --> 00:07:41,05 poppies the way to curb addiction to narcotics would be addiction to export 88 00:07:41,06 --> 00:07:46,27 oriented capitalism instead of Granted tears harvesting blood harvest pomegranate 89 00:07:46,28 --> 00:07:49,75 juice for granted cocktails It was only 90 00:07:49,76 --> 00:07:54,75 a matter of months before the aggressive worldwide campaign began the war for Palm 91 00:07:54,83 --> 00:08:00,88 in the war on terror by the antioxidant superpower as the army fight insurgents in 92 00:08:00,88 --> 00:08:06,07 the pomegranate Groves the engorging growing industry fought for customers in the 93 00:08:06,08 --> 00:08:12,20 globalized market within three years by the time I bought my soda nearly two 94 00:08:12,21 --> 00:08:17,30 hundred pomegranate products have hit the shelves wine involved. 95 00:08:19,03 --> 00:08:25,92 Beer and salsa soap and pills dressing and shampoo. The 96 00:08:25,93 --> 00:08:31,33 fruits miracle properties could cure high blood pressure cancer and heart disease 97 00:08:31,37 --> 00:08:36,32 among citizens of the heart of the empire they do little to heal wounds caused by 98 00:08:36,33 --> 00:08:39,69 Hellfire missiles cluster bombs or shrapnel from 99 00:08:39,70 --> 00:08:45,46 a shiny new grenade machine guns in the Arghandab Valley the fifth Stryker Brigade 100 00:08:45,47 --> 00:08:47,64 from Fort Lewis Washington set up 101 00:08:47,65 --> 00:08:51,28 a base in pomegranate country in the middle of Taliban country 102 00:08:52,15 --> 00:08:56,29 a kill team placed to grenade on an innocent civilian they killed to cover his 103 00:08:56,30 --> 00:09:02,05 murder another Stryker bullet platoon got marooned in an orchard for several days 104 00:09:02,34 --> 00:09:06,42 supplies ran so low that they turned to juice full pomegranates to maintain their 105 00:09:06,43 --> 00:09:11,89 strength like the Greeks and Persians the British and Russians before them the 106 00:09:11,91 --> 00:09:16,18 American soldiers had to sip the blood of life from the ancient pomegranate to give 107 00:09:16,19 --> 00:09:20,95 them the energy to hurl the modern tools of death because of the battles in the 108 00:09:20,96 --> 00:09:25,96 booby traps the Arghandab Valley no one can pick the fruit which now lies in 109 00:09:25,97 --> 00:09:30,46 writing piles preparing a pomegranate is like to start 110 00:09:30,65 --> 00:09:36,80 a grenade carefully cut off the crown lightly cut off score the rind 111 00:09:37,35 --> 00:09:43,85 gently pull apart the fruit peacefully pluck out the seeds handle it with care so 112 00:09:43,86 --> 00:09:45,58 it doesn't explode in your face. 113 00:09:56,05 --> 00:09:58,25 So I want to talk about 114 00:09:58,55 --> 00:10:05,37 a very much related topic of the military bases around the world I think 115 00:10:05,55 --> 00:10:11,09 being exposed to them in places like Washington State I spent some time in the 116 00:10:11,10 --> 00:10:18,03 Philippines and Europe. I'm really convinced that warfare it's not 117 00:10:18,04 --> 00:10:24,12 just about violence it's not just about killing it's about power. 118 00:10:24,98 --> 00:10:31,39 And domination and it's just as horrific if it's done without 119 00:10:31,43 --> 00:10:37,76 explicit violence. And one country's dignity and self-determination 120 00:10:38,44 --> 00:10:43,20 is taken over by another and it becomes something normal and I think that's one of 121 00:10:43,21 --> 00:10:48,15 the reasons I was attracted to Native American studies and I really think that 122 00:10:48,16 --> 00:10:53,44 a lot of what we're seeing in the world today is very much along the lines of this 123 00:10:53,48 --> 00:10:58,63 idea of occupation of controlling the economy controlling the culture of 124 00:10:58,64 --> 00:11:05,54 a place and. And dominating it. And I think it's important to focus 125 00:11:05,55 --> 00:11:10,86 on things like the economics like the military bases like the resources and not 126 00:11:10,87 --> 00:11:15,38 just focus on the moments when there's an invasion when there's bombing when there 127 00:11:15,39 --> 00:11:20,34 are people being killed to me the most interesting time is after 128 00:11:20,35 --> 00:11:27,01 a war is after the occupation goes off the front pages into the back pages 129 00:11:27,24 --> 00:11:32,73 and the real control by the United States is instituted So I think that that's one 130 00:11:32,73 --> 00:11:37,18 of the reasons that I've been studying military bases for years and years but just 131 00:11:37,19 --> 00:11:37,40 to get 132 00:11:37,41 --> 00:11:44,32 a sense of the radical radical changes that we've seen in the global network 133 00:11:44,48 --> 00:11:45,14 of U.S. 134 00:11:45,15 --> 00:11:52,59 Military bases over just the last twenty years is astounding. And we have. You 135 00:11:52,60 --> 00:11:58,86 know a number of these countries that in one nine hundred ninety had no U.S. 136 00:11:58,87 --> 00:12:03,13 Military bases and now it seems almost like they've been there forever 137 00:12:03,97 --> 00:12:08,71 a large part of the Middle East and Central Asia in particular but also other parts 138 00:12:08,72 --> 00:12:10,60 of the world next to the U.S. 139 00:12:10,61 --> 00:12:14,90 Nuclear monopoly there is no more universally recognized symbol of the nation 140 00:12:14,91 --> 00:12:20,67 superpower status than it's overseas basing system. Senior adviser to Vice Chair of 141 00:12:20,68 --> 00:12:23,37 the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Give us 142 00:12:23,41 --> 00:12:29,85 a sense of the size of some of these monstrous forward operating bases or if 143 00:12:29,86 --> 00:12:34,78 Obs In places like Iraq or Afghanistan. This is 144 00:12:35,12 --> 00:12:40,33 a satellite photo of Iraq and you can see this yourself on Google Earth we could 145 00:12:40,34 --> 00:12:44,18 probably go on Google Earth I think we have a signal but I just did 146 00:12:44,19 --> 00:12:49,73 a few snapshots from Google Earth and in the Tigris Euphrates River Valley there's 147 00:12:49,74 --> 00:12:56,40 a little. Dot at first you don't really see it but it's right there that little red 148 00:12:56,85 --> 00:13:00,47 box is around the DOT skipper I am there as we zoom in 149 00:13:03,74 --> 00:13:08,74 and you can see there is this kind of natural lay of the land around the river 150 00:13:08,75 --> 00:13:15,62 valley where it turns into desert but there's this kind of artificial rectangle as 151 00:13:15,63 --> 00:13:22,18 we zoom in and that's Bill Oddie air base 152 00:13:23,20 --> 00:13:29,18 built with Saddam's Air Force built with Soviet help and when the Americans went in 153 00:13:29,22 --> 00:13:36,01 this is the premier air base and still functions because it's the headquarters of 154 00:13:36,02 --> 00:13:40,74 a lot of the private contractors down here is what's called K.B.R. 155 00:13:40,75 --> 00:13:45,75 Lander Kellogg Brown and Root. Former subsidiary of Halliburton 156 00:13:48,05 --> 00:13:54,88 you can see the Chinook helicopters there on the tarmac you 157 00:13:54,89 --> 00:14:01,09 can see the those little holes those are mortar craters that are left by insurgent 158 00:14:01,10 --> 00:14:06,97 mortars so many of them that people were stationed at the base I met several call 159 00:14:07,01 --> 00:14:09,73 used to call it mortar read avail and they even have 160 00:14:09,74 --> 00:14:15,53 a song. To accompany that So that gives you 161 00:14:15,54 --> 00:14:22,43 a sense of the gargantuan scale of some of these bases in places like Iraq or 162 00:14:22,44 --> 00:14:29,33 Afghanistan or Kosovo. So looking at I know there's the take the billions back home 163 00:14:29,34 --> 00:14:35,16 so I looked up the base structure report from two thousand and seven there's been 164 00:14:35,17 --> 00:14:42,02 one more recently but now with as accurate data. Eight hundred twenty three bases 165 00:14:42,03 --> 00:14:46,72 outside the US and that doesn't count the rock or Afghanistan those are considered 166 00:14:46,73 --> 00:14:53,40 in war zones rather than. Part of the US military base 167 00:14:53,41 --> 00:14:59,70 network maintained at about one hundred billion dollars a year so when you have 168 00:14:59,71 --> 00:15:05,45 a little conversation with someone about the federal budget about all the cuts it's 169 00:15:05,46 --> 00:15:08,69 a figure that kind of sticks in the mind one hundred billion dollars 170 00:15:08,70 --> 00:15:11,27 a year there are many in the U.S. 171 00:15:11,28 --> 00:15:14,28 Territories there are about four thousand on the U.S. 172 00:15:14,29 --> 00:15:19,88 Mainland about seven hundred hundred of the major one hundred billion is just the 173 00:15:19,89 --> 00:15:24,64 ones outside the United States so that would be the savings if we just decided to 174 00:15:24,65 --> 00:15:30,53 close down all foreign military bases and bring them home. There are many purposes 175 00:15:30,54 --> 00:15:36,65 of military bases not just one purpose obviously is to project force into other 176 00:15:36,66 --> 00:15:38,24 countries also as 177 00:15:38,28 --> 00:15:44,08 a listening post electronic surveillance on the surrounding area pre-positioning 178 00:15:44,09 --> 00:15:46,10 supplies even if you don't have 179 00:15:46,64 --> 00:15:51,38 a lot of personnel there there's supplies there ready to be used in 180 00:15:51,39 --> 00:15:57,32 a war training we Nations testing and all the other kinds of things that are 181 00:15:57,33 --> 00:16:00,99 associated with military personnel medical facilities 182 00:16:01,00 --> 00:16:07,74 a prison rest and recreation facilities what I find most important about bases is 183 00:16:07,75 --> 00:16:08,73 their function as 184 00:16:08,74 --> 00:16:15,73 a trip wire and by tripwire I mean something that is present that if it is 185 00:16:15,84 --> 00:16:20,40 it's positioned it's put in place in order that it become 186 00:16:20,41 --> 00:16:24,88 a controversy in order that it can generate conflict so 187 00:16:24,92 --> 00:16:28,64 a military tripwire for instance in South Korea because their U.S. 188 00:16:28,65 --> 00:16:31,77 Military bases in Korea if there's 189 00:16:31,78 --> 00:16:34,47 a war between North and South Korea we automatically have 190 00:16:34,48 --> 00:16:37,79 a role in it because we already have bases there it's not 191 00:16:37,80 --> 00:16:40,45 a matter of invading from the United States 192 00:16:41,21 --> 00:16:45,25 a political trip wire is one and Philippines is 193 00:16:45,26 --> 00:16:49,67 a very good example all through the eighty's and ninety's. Ments U.S. 194 00:16:49,68 --> 00:16:54,98 Interests in that country so if there's any kind of fundamental social change going 195 00:16:54,99 --> 00:17:00,29 on that country it has to be squashed because it might affect the status of the 196 00:17:00,30 --> 00:17:02,99 bases. Or if there's 197 00:17:03,00 --> 00:17:09,37 a dictator who's repressing his own people that might be to the detriment of the 198 00:17:09,38 --> 00:17:09,66 U.S. 199 00:17:09,67 --> 00:17:14,56 Military bases as well and that dictator might have to be held back but but the primary 200 00:17:14,57 --> 00:17:18,95 interest of the United States is to defend the bases and will interfere in internal 201 00:17:18,96 --> 00:17:24,57 politics in order to do so. It's obviously easier as we saw in Panama I visited 202 00:17:24,58 --> 00:17:28,78 Panama a couple of years ago and and saw the former U.S. 203 00:17:28,79 --> 00:17:31,79 Military bases there it's obviously easier to invade 204 00:17:31,80 --> 00:17:36,06 a country if you already have bases there you just roll right out of the front gate 205 00:17:36,10 --> 00:17:42,72 instead of just having to drop in paratroops. And so I really do believe that 206 00:17:43,06 --> 00:17:48,45 one of the reasons for foreign military bases is to win popular support in the 207 00:17:48,46 --> 00:17:52,19 United States for intervention with the message of we've got to protect our troops 208 00:17:52,20 --> 00:17:57,20 our people are there we have to do something. And I think that that's deliberate 209 00:17:57,28 --> 00:17:58,62 conscious not just 210 00:17:58,63 --> 00:18:06,89 a side effect. Well 211 00:18:06,90 --> 00:18:13,31 we do we do but the question is who and I'll get to that who do we ask permission 212 00:18:13,32 --> 00:18:14,84 from and if it's 213 00:18:14,85 --> 00:18:19,94 a dictatorship that doesn't have popular support if it's an elite that really only 214 00:18:19,95 --> 00:18:20,52 represents 215 00:18:20,53 --> 00:18:25,33 a tiny fraction of the population those are the people give the permission much 216 00:18:25,34 --> 00:18:29,69 like how the World Bank or I.M.F. Interacts with the country it's much like the U.S. 217 00:18:29,70 --> 00:18:34,03 Military interacts But there obviously and this is there's quite 218 00:18:34,04 --> 00:18:40,25 a bit of exposure on this particular. Cynthia and lo if you really want to see the 219 00:18:40,26 --> 00:18:42,46 dynamics of U.S. 220 00:18:42,47 --> 00:18:48,64 Military bases both abroad and at home. I think she's the best 221 00:18:48,95 --> 00:18:54,34 scholar of the interaction especially of women and militarism but in particular 222 00:18:54,35 --> 00:18:59,53 military bases and you can see the economic gap between the Americans and the local 223 00:18:59,54 --> 00:19:05,71 population the racial attitudes usually racism by Americans towards 224 00:19:06,44 --> 00:19:11,72 the local people in some instances in Europe the other way around racism directed 225 00:19:11,73 --> 00:19:12,79 towards American G. 226 00:19:12,80 --> 00:19:18,64 Guys and African-American Latino or other G I's who are put in an all European 227 00:19:18,65 --> 00:19:24,95 environment. The dangers the risks of explosions from unexploded ordinance 228 00:19:24,96 --> 00:19:31,67 environmental contamination. The crimes that are directed by U.S. 229 00:19:31,68 --> 00:19:37,16 Military personnel towards local women and girls in particular and how if 230 00:19:37,73 --> 00:19:43,68 a Marine is accused of rape. Instead of being put on trial in that country they're 231 00:19:43,69 --> 00:19:48,83 pulled out and perhaps court martialed in another and in the U.S. 232 00:19:48,84 --> 00:19:53,93 Territory or perhaps not and that's under the so far the Status of Forces Agreement 233 00:19:54,81 --> 00:20:01,14 when I was in the Philippines I was just amazed by the. Scale of the 234 00:20:01,15 --> 00:20:06,95 prostitution industry and how women have been systematically prostituted not as 235 00:20:06,96 --> 00:20:09,31 some accidental side effect of having 236 00:20:09,32 --> 00:20:13,39 a lot of soldiers there but as part of the arrangement worked out with the host 237 00:20:13,63 --> 00:20:17,62 businesses and host government so this is what I want to talk about is kind of the 238 00:20:17,63 --> 00:20:19,87 geography of U.S. 239 00:20:19,88 --> 00:20:26,01 Military bases and how in particular in this strategic area of the Middle East it's 240 00:20:26,01 --> 00:20:30,86 . Changed radically over the last twenty twenty five years and one thousand nine 241 00:20:30,87 --> 00:20:34,15 hundred nine These were the only host countries for U.S. 242 00:20:34,16 --> 00:20:39,08 Military bases in the region. Turkey Greece Somalia had 243 00:20:39,47 --> 00:20:43,45 a naval base that was Soviet was turned over to the Americans 244 00:20:43,57 --> 00:20:47,40 a lot of oil the British had pulled out but not a big U.S. 245 00:20:47,41 --> 00:20:50,90 Military presence since one nine hundred ninety we've had 246 00:20:50,91 --> 00:20:55,51 a series of wars that have left behind 247 00:20:55,95 --> 00:21:01,32 a whole string of permanent military bases in this region that previously had not 248 00:21:01,33 --> 00:21:07,59 had military bases and I guess the question should be asked are these bases being 249 00:21:07,60 --> 00:21:13,94 built to wage wars by the United States or is the United States waging wars in 250 00:21:13,95 --> 00:21:18,47 order to leave behind these military bases as 251 00:21:18,67 --> 00:21:22,95 a political military and economic some mentoring of U.S. 252 00:21:22,96 --> 00:21:28,85 Influence in the strategic area so the military bases that we leave behind are as 253 00:21:28,86 --> 00:21:35,04 important as the wars themselves. And I think that each of these wars it doesn't 254 00:21:35,10 --> 00:21:35,96 matter if it's 255 00:21:35,97 --> 00:21:41,83 a Republican or Democratic administration this is through the Bush administrations 256 00:21:41,84 --> 00:21:46,69 through the Clinton administration through the Obama administration. Seeing the 257 00:21:46,74 --> 00:21:52,90 stationing of the bases not only to wage the wars but using each of the wars not 258 00:21:52,91 --> 00:21:55,34 necessarily planning it out in advance it's not 259 00:21:55,35 --> 00:21:58,97 a conspiracy theory but looking at each of these wars as 260 00:21:58,98 --> 00:22:04,47 a convenient opportunity to station these bases and leave them behind after the war 261 00:22:04,48 --> 00:22:11,11 is over American vital interests in the central region are long standing with 262 00:22:11,12 --> 00:22:15,48 over sixty five percent of the world's oil reserves located in the Gulf states of 263 00:22:15,49 --> 00:22:17,34 the region from which the U.S. 264 00:22:17,35 --> 00:22:21,58 Imports nearly twenty percent of its needs Western Europe forty three percent and 265 00:22:21,59 --> 00:22:26,89 Japan sixty eight percent the international committee which must have free and 266 00:22:26,90 --> 00:22:32,01 unfettered access to the region and resources the head of Central Command so it 267 00:22:32,02 --> 00:22:32,37 isn't 268 00:22:32,38 --> 00:22:38,70 a matter of oil from the region is vital to American interests whenever you hear 269 00:22:38,71 --> 00:22:45,51 about this idea of domestic energy independence blah blah blah blah blah. Not very 270 00:22:45,52 --> 00:22:49,40 much of our oil actually comes from the Middle East it comes from places like 271 00:22:49,67 --> 00:22:56,26 Canada Mexico West Africa very little of it comes from Middle East what 272 00:22:56,39 --> 00:23:01,08 actually. The U.S. 273 00:23:01,09 --> 00:23:05,28 Role in the Middle East in terms of oil has in terms of getting the profits from 274 00:23:05,29 --> 00:23:11,89 the oil and it's primarily western Europe and Japan and now increasingly China 275 00:23:12,17 --> 00:23:16,33 that are the ones dependent particular Japan that doesn't have domestic energy 276 00:23:16,34 --> 00:23:21,17 resources of its own is very dependent on Persian Gulf oil so as far back as the 277 00:23:21,18 --> 00:23:25,75 Gulf War is actually rock in France correctly summed it up he said it's not that 278 00:23:25,76 --> 00:23:29,82 the Americans want the oil so they can use the oil it so they can control the 279 00:23:29,83 --> 00:23:36,79 spigot of oil. For their emerging economic competitors which is 280 00:23:36,80 --> 00:23:43,64 the European Union and Japan and China. So when we see. The Gulf 281 00:23:43,65 --> 00:23:50,55 War. To think well you know this I think people my students 282 00:23:50,59 --> 00:23:54,78 don't even know that the Gulf War happened you know they know about the Iraq war 283 00:23:54,79 --> 00:23:59,17 but they don't know about the Gulf War in one thousand nine hundred one and we when 284 00:23:59,18 --> 00:24:04,69 you think about the blow back then it was the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that 285 00:24:04,70 --> 00:24:11,28 was attacked by al Qaeda. It wasn't so much the war itself that generated the 286 00:24:11,29 --> 00:24:16,22 blowback it was the presence of the bases still in Saudi Arabia that generated the 287 00:24:16,23 --> 00:24:20,63 resentment that led to the formation of al-Qaeda and I'm not going to get into all 288 00:24:20,64 --> 00:24:27,57 of the theories about al Qaeda. Came out of the war in Afghanistan really 289 00:24:27,58 --> 00:24:34,44 the the Americans supporting the Mujahideen against the Soviets and. And it 290 00:24:34,45 --> 00:24:36,12 was the presence of U.S. 291 00:24:36,13 --> 00:24:41,65 Military bases in Saudi Arabia and support for Israel that created the huge scale 292 00:24:41,66 --> 00:24:47,54 resentment that I think was exploited by al Qaeda but after the war. After the Gulf 293 00:24:47,55 --> 00:24:52,79 War in ninety one the invasion of Kuwait and southern Iraq this was the situation 294 00:24:52,83 --> 00:24:53,34 where you had 295 00:24:53,35 --> 00:24:59,63 a cluster of bases set up Saudi Arabia you had the Fifth Fleet in grain you had air 296 00:24:59,64 --> 00:25:04,67 base in Qatar you had United Arab Emirates Oman and the U.S. 297 00:25:04,68 --> 00:25:09,10 Has pulled back because of this blowback from much of Saudi Arabia that the U.S. 298 00:25:09,11 --> 00:25:09,71 Still has 299 00:25:09,72 --> 00:25:14,01 a presence in Saudi Arabia there are still communications bases there are still 300 00:25:14,32 --> 00:25:19,81 Saudi bases used by the United States that hasn't abandoned those so this was the 301 00:25:19,85 --> 00:25:26,25 cluster left behind by the Gulf War. The Yugoslav wars the series of interventions 302 00:25:26,26 --> 00:25:29,75 in both Bosnia and Kosovo left behind 303 00:25:29,76 --> 00:25:36,22 a series of small bases in the NATO zone of course of. And 304 00:25:36,23 --> 00:25:42,18 a very large and several of my students at Evergreen. In our who are veterans have 305 00:25:42,19 --> 00:25:46,70 been stationed at cons Camp Bondsteel which is not only to have a U.S. 306 00:25:46,71 --> 00:25:53,12 Presence in that sector in Kosovo. Which is the point of contention between Serbs 307 00:25:53,13 --> 00:25:55,21 and Albanians but also 308 00:25:55,25 --> 00:26:00,29 a lot of them have been stationed at Comp Camp Bondsteel this enormous sprawling 309 00:26:00,30 --> 00:26:05,05 site before they're deployed to the Middle East so it's the stepping stone this 310 00:26:05,06 --> 00:26:11,06 lilypad strategy that's being utilized so this was the cluster left behind after 311 00:26:11,07 --> 00:26:17,82 the US love wars for Balkan wars in an airbase in Hungary basis in both bases and 312 00:26:17,83 --> 00:26:19,13 Kosovo for a while 313 00:26:19,14 --> 00:26:24,70 a presence in Macedonia now being. So in south eastern Europe as well. 314 00:26:25,99 --> 00:26:31,37 The Afghan war launched in November of two thousand and one has left behind and 315 00:26:31,59 --> 00:26:35,95 a large number of forward operating bases throughout the country in particular in 316 00:26:35,96 --> 00:26:41,57 the Pashtoon south which is the heartland of the Taliban and really stepping into 317 00:26:41,58 --> 00:26:46,72 that very complex ethnic geography we also of course have. 318 00:26:48,06 --> 00:26:49,43 Afghanistan as 319 00:26:49,44 --> 00:26:55,54 a transit point for the new great game of oil and gas pipelines coming out of the 320 00:26:55,55 --> 00:27:02,17 Caspian Sea base and and several of the figures involved in the Afghan 321 00:27:02,18 --> 00:27:08,39 war have been actually figures with Unocal Corporation So even though it's not rich 322 00:27:08,40 --> 00:27:11,41 in oil like Iraq Afghanistan still plays 323 00:27:11,42 --> 00:27:17,51 a role in and the game of oil and natural gas when the Afghan conflict is over we 324 00:27:17,52 --> 00:27:21,97 will not leave Central Asia we have long term plans an interest in this region and 325 00:27:21,98 --> 00:27:26,63 it's countries will be given assistance in exchange for concrete steps like having 326 00:27:26,64 --> 00:27:33,61 these air bases in Afghanistan. I was actually amazed to one of my students 327 00:27:33,66 --> 00:27:39,21 in Wisconsin in two thousand and two had been stationed at Bagram and she learned 328 00:27:39,22 --> 00:27:45,41 more about me in my class and I didn't even know that much about Afghanistan at 329 00:27:45,42 --> 00:27:49,72 that point she learned more from me in my class than she had learned from the Air 330 00:27:49,73 --> 00:27:55,25 Force before she was deployed she didn't even know the ethnicity of the people who 331 00:27:55,26 --> 00:27:59,11 are around that air base she didn't know the cities that were nearby they were 332 00:27:59,12 --> 00:28:02,27 deliberately keep people in the dark. In 333 00:28:02,28 --> 00:28:07,90 a systematic way but this is the cluster that was left behind after Afghanistan the 334 00:28:08,10 --> 00:28:15,06 series of semi secret bases air bases or parts of air bases in Pakistan 335 00:28:16,03 --> 00:28:17,40 whose back to stand to G.Q. 336 00:28:17,41 --> 00:28:20,35 Stand Kyrgyzstan which is very interesting it's actually 337 00:28:20,69 --> 00:28:22,41 a country that has had both U.S. 338 00:28:22,45 --> 00:28:28,83 And Russian military bases right. Next to China of great concern to China in 339 00:28:28,84 --> 00:28:32,02 respect to stand a dictator massacred 340 00:28:32,51 --> 00:28:37,83 a large number of people in the city of Andijon two thousand and five and the US 341 00:28:37,84 --> 00:28:43,47 actually objected for once it was so blatant and that dictator temporarily pulled 342 00:28:43,48 --> 00:28:50,17 out the bases. A recent similar situation in Kyrgyzstan where 343 00:28:50,39 --> 00:28:52,16 the US pulled out at least for 344 00:28:52,17 --> 00:28:55,70 a while it's hard to tell whether they've been kicked out of there but there's 345 00:28:55,71 --> 00:28:59,74 a whole series of US military bases around the world that have been kicked out and 346 00:28:59,75 --> 00:29:02,17 of course Iraq war and I put 347 00:29:02,47 --> 00:29:06,61 a lot of question marks I think the question marks would go from there to the wall 348 00:29:07,40 --> 00:29:12,08 if the heroic wars really ended in two thousand and eleven the whole reason for the 349 00:29:12,09 --> 00:29:16,00 war is to get American troops into the region to put pressure on other governments 350 00:29:16,29 --> 00:29:21,32 this is going to be the main American military base in that region. And I think 351 00:29:21,33 --> 00:29:27,09 that that has come to pass to some extent even though you have the ground forces 352 00:29:27,10 --> 00:29:28,80 supposedly having pulled out you have 353 00:29:28,81 --> 00:29:35,15 a large number of private contractors most of the soldiers are still being deployed 354 00:29:35,16 --> 00:29:39,80 to Kuwait there's nothing in any of the agreements that says the U.S. 355 00:29:39,81 --> 00:29:46,62 Can't use drones in Iraq or bomb insurgent positions in Iraq and so 356 00:29:46,63 --> 00:29:52,38 watch for that kind of warfare that that kind of technical warfare to be continuing 357 00:29:52,42 --> 00:29:56,44 even Jimmy Carter said the reason that we went to Iraq was to establish 358 00:29:56,45 --> 00:29:59,77 a permanent military base in the Gulf region I have never heard any of our leaders 359 00:29:59,78 --> 00:30:03,22 say that they would commit themselves to the Iraqi people that ten years from now 360 00:30:03,23 --> 00:30:07,85 there will be no military bases of the United States in Iraq now remember back to 361 00:30:07,86 --> 00:30:14,04 when we were talking about gender and about social costs it was really. The 362 00:30:14,05 --> 00:30:20,88 insistence by the Iraqi opposition. Taught all solder that the United 363 00:30:20,89 --> 00:30:27,64 States has to. Now it's and. Unity of it's troops when they commit crimes 364 00:30:28,56 --> 00:30:33,99 that cause the Iraqi parliament to say you have to pull out your most explicitly 365 00:30:34,31 --> 00:30:40,27 military troops what's happened now is that the private contractors and in two 366 00:30:40,28 --> 00:30:47,07 thousand and nine the number of contractors surpassed the number of soldiers and 367 00:30:47,11 --> 00:30:51,02 they are not under the military so it's true Department of Defense has pulled out 368 00:30:51,44 --> 00:30:56,85 almost all its people the command for the private contractors is the State 369 00:30:56,86 --> 00:31:01,96 Department isn't the Department of Defense it's Hillary Clinton who's giving the 370 00:31:01,97 --> 00:31:08,63 orders for the armed personnel in Iraq not the Pentagon so the 371 00:31:08,67 --> 00:31:15,28 major bases six major bases that are ups under the Iraqi flag now but where there 372 00:31:15,29 --> 00:31:22,03 is still American special forces operations private contractors operations. That 373 00:31:22,04 --> 00:31:24,09 still happening but to just fill in the map 374 00:31:24,10 --> 00:31:28,56 a little bit so this was the situation one thousand nine hundred nine I showed you 375 00:31:29,16 --> 00:31:34,00 after the air after the Gulf War you see Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States hosting 376 00:31:34,35 --> 00:31:41,33 bases after the Yugoslav wars you see in southeastern Europe number of bases 377 00:31:41,35 --> 00:31:47,50 after the Afghan war started Afghanistan Pakistan Central Asia the Iraq war not 378 00:31:47,51 --> 00:31:53,78 only in Iraq but also now in Romania Bulgaria to some extent Poland 379 00:31:54,46 --> 00:32:00,92 there are also bases being built so you can see on this map why there is so much 380 00:32:00,93 --> 00:32:06,37 attention beyond simply the fact that their governments are repressing protesters 381 00:32:06,39 --> 00:32:07,53 even before that there was 382 00:32:07,54 --> 00:32:14,47 a huge amount of attention in pressure on Iran and Syria. Because if Iran and 383 00:32:14,48 --> 00:32:21,43 Syria Iran as it did under the Shah if they ended up hosting US military bases 384 00:32:21,44 --> 00:32:23,59 if the current regime was toppled and 385 00:32:23,60 --> 00:32:28,17 a new government was put in that welcomed in US bases like the Shah did that would 386 00:32:28,18 --> 00:32:34,63 complete the contiguous belt of US military bases from Poland to 387 00:32:34,64 --> 00:32:41,44 Pakistan. Contiguous US military sphere of influence 388 00:32:41,53 --> 00:32:42,77 which also ends up being 389 00:32:42,78 --> 00:32:49,74 a US economic sphere of influence so he ran and Syria would maintain 390 00:32:49,78 --> 00:32:55,30 this US fear of influence between the European Union one emerging economic 391 00:32:55,31 --> 00:33:01,17 competitor of the United States and China and Japan the two economic poles to the 392 00:33:01,18 --> 00:33:07,85 east that are in competition with the United States. So it's almost like 393 00:33:08,39 --> 00:33:12,95 I told my friends it's almost as if you have all of Johnny Cash as C.D.'s except 394 00:33:12,96 --> 00:33:19,91 for two right and you want you want those last two they've spent so much effort 395 00:33:20,24 --> 00:33:22,05 to build up to may have 396 00:33:22,06 --> 00:33:28,96 a permanent presence in this region between Asia and Europe and Russia. And the 397 00:33:29,21 --> 00:33:35,60 two obstacles that are left are Iran Syria. Yeah and this really comes from 398 00:33:35,61 --> 00:33:40,81 analysis by John Stockwell and that is not necessarily that each of these dictators 399 00:33:40,85 --> 00:33:45,39 was financed supported with arms although a heck of 400 00:33:45,40 --> 00:33:52,34 a lot of them were if you look at that Noriega. The ones who were late or later 401 00:33:52,35 --> 00:33:57,56 toppled because they turned against the United States but it's really who is in the 402 00:33:57,57 --> 00:34:04,04 media who is put out there as the enemy who is going to justify this 403 00:34:04,05 --> 00:34:09,72 huge military budget used to be easy Soviet Union there have missiles aimed at our 404 00:34:09,73 --> 00:34:16,45 cities. They're pretty easy to demonize but since the fall of the Soviet Union 405 00:34:16,89 --> 00:34:22,30 what I found is there's usually one Middle Eastern dictator and one Latin American 406 00:34:22,31 --> 00:34:27,99 dictator or rebel movement of some sort that's put forward Latin American dictators 407 00:34:28,00 --> 00:34:34,73 haven't worked too well. Nicaragua was hard to demonize Venezuela chive is 408 00:34:35,15 --> 00:34:36,64 one a lot of elections. In 409 00:34:36,65 --> 00:34:41,78 a hard spot I think around the time of the Iran hostage crisis they started test 410 00:34:41,79 --> 00:34:44,35 driving the Muslim enemy and that worked 411 00:34:44,36 --> 00:34:50,39 a lot better and so I think since then there's always been. You know Iran or 412 00:34:50,40 --> 00:34:56,99 somebody else has put forward as the enemy and I think that in many cases the 413 00:34:57,00 --> 00:35:00,61 attention and demonization of some of these dictators actually prolong them in 414 00:35:00,62 --> 00:35:03,54 power because they were able like a case of Cuba is 415 00:35:03,55 --> 00:35:08,26 a good one where they're able to say our economic problems that's not our fault 416 00:35:08,34 --> 00:35:11,78 it's not the fault of the Cuban government it's the fault of the United States. 417 00:35:13,56 --> 00:35:19,18 Launched an embargo for many years and to some extent that's true factually and so 418 00:35:20,10 --> 00:35:25,67 you have ability of someone like Noriega like Saddam to stay in power when they're 419 00:35:25,68 --> 00:35:32,48 demonized. So I think that you see this pattern over time that some of the ones who 420 00:35:32,49 --> 00:35:35,83 have been the most demonized are the ones who end up staying in power the longest 421 00:35:36,26 --> 00:35:41,10 counter productive. So I think in 422 00:35:41,11 --> 00:35:47,88 a lot of these cases. We saw opportunities to prevent wars before they 423 00:35:47,89 --> 00:35:53,23 happened and we all went through it with Iraq. There all these arguments to go to 424 00:35:53,24 --> 00:35:58,52 war because of famine because of humanitarian reasons because we need to catch 425 00:35:58,53 --> 00:36:00,48 a terrorist because 426 00:36:00,49 --> 00:36:08,31 a country might be constructing nuclear chemical weapons but. The 427 00:36:08,35 --> 00:36:14,57 drive towards war was seemed inexorable no matter what the protests were and I 428 00:36:14,58 --> 00:36:15,91 think that the stationing 429 00:36:15,92 --> 00:36:22,30 a military base is one of the reasons for this because the powers that be knew that 430 00:36:22,36 --> 00:36:25,51 these wars could lead to a more permanent presence 431 00:36:25,52 --> 00:36:30,68 a military presence political control economic presence and so there really weren't 432 00:36:30,69 --> 00:36:36,39 necessarily logical reasons or logical rationales for these wars it was decided 433 00:36:36,40 --> 00:36:41,76 that they should be done for other reasons seizing the opportunities and I think 434 00:36:41,77 --> 00:36:48,37 that. When we saw how long the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan 435 00:36:48,38 --> 00:36:54,55 stretched on. And for that matter the series of interventions in Somalia. 436 00:36:56,95 --> 00:37:02,16 Failing to capture or kill bin Laden for many many years was convenient as well 437 00:37:02,20 --> 00:37:08,87 because as soon as they captured Saddam. The Shias in Iraq 438 00:37:09,30 --> 00:37:12,35 who before were somewhat neutral really turned against the U.S. 439 00:37:12,36 --> 00:37:17,83 Occupation and we now see that since the killing of bin Laden the rationale not 440 00:37:17,84 --> 00:37:23,28 only in Afghanistan and Pakistan but even among the US public has really collapsed 441 00:37:23,66 --> 00:37:28,10 for the intervention in Afghanistan for most Americans that was the reason we went 442 00:37:28,11 --> 00:37:32,78 in now it's over now it's time to get out and I hear that conversation over and 443 00:37:32,79 --> 00:37:37,85 over again so I think that they held off on victory in many of these cases because 444 00:37:37,86 --> 00:37:42,86 they wanted to cement that influence either through military bases or dominating 445 00:37:42,87 --> 00:37:49,23 the economies so just in conclusion I want to go through using the analysis of 446 00:37:49,76 --> 00:37:53,28 kind of seeing them more permanent domination of 447 00:37:53,29 --> 00:37:56,26 a country after the war as one of the reasons for 448 00:37:56,27 --> 00:38:02,43 a war we can obviously look at Iran and Syria as the focus is. Now 449 00:38:02,94 --> 00:38:04,11 whether or not it's about 450 00:38:04,12 --> 00:38:09,35 a nuclear program whether or not it's about the very real human rights violations 451 00:38:10,25 --> 00:38:15,91 the massacres really going on in Syria. There are massacres of protesters going on 452 00:38:15,92 --> 00:38:22,76 in Bahrain. In Yemen but you don't see those on the front pages whatsoever it's 453 00:38:22,77 --> 00:38:28,74 really Syria that's the focus right now and same with Iran the targeting we have 454 00:38:28,75 --> 00:38:35,71 Iran I think that when it comes to the very complex. Question of what 455 00:38:35,72 --> 00:38:41,80 would be the future the ideal future of Palestine in the eyes of the U.S. 456 00:38:42,06 --> 00:38:42,65 I think there is 457 00:38:42,66 --> 00:38:48,11 a faction that is Israel right or wrong I think it's also important to look at the 458 00:38:48,12 --> 00:38:53,69 possibility that there would be some kind of settlement in the future the CIA has 459 00:38:53,70 --> 00:38:54,05 played 460 00:38:54,71 --> 00:39:00,37 a large role both in Israel and the Palestinian Palestinian Authority and I think 461 00:39:00,38 --> 00:39:04,57 there are some within the U.S. Government that would like to see some kind of U.S. 462 00:39:04,58 --> 00:39:08,54 Role permanent role some even military bases or 463 00:39:08,78 --> 00:39:13,59 a military presence in the West Bank in particular as part of some kind of 464 00:39:13,60 --> 00:39:18,41 settlement so that's something to think about when whenever you hear about peace 465 00:39:18,42 --> 00:39:24,73 peace is great but then is peace also becoming accompanied by greater 466 00:39:24,74 --> 00:39:30,72 domination. And so this is one of the things to be thinking about we're already at 467 00:39:30,73 --> 00:39:37,26 war it's not just drones there are special forces raids in both Somalia and Yemen 468 00:39:37,27 --> 00:39:43,17 there's been bombing there have been ground attacks so the wars. 469 00:39:44,37 --> 00:39:51,25 In Iraq and Afghanistan have expanded to Pakistan Yemen and Somalia in 470 00:39:51,26 --> 00:39:56,03 a very systematic way and we don't hear about it because Americans are being killed 471 00:39:56,31 --> 00:40:00,83 and I think that's one of the tragedies when you don't have Americans being killed 472 00:40:00,83 --> 00:40:06,05 . But you have foreign civilians being killed the media doesn't pay as much 473 00:40:06,06 --> 00:40:10,03 attention I think many Americans don't pay as much attention I think there are 474 00:40:10,04 --> 00:40:15,34 possibilities also along the oil and gas pipelines in both George and I was there 475 00:40:15,35 --> 00:40:18,21 by John of more direct to U.S. 476 00:40:18,50 --> 00:40:22,59 Influence in the Philippines where the U.S. 477 00:40:22,60 --> 00:40:26,64 Was kicked out of the bases in the early ninety's there is now 478 00:40:26,65 --> 00:40:32,56 a very systematic attempt under the Visiting Forces Agreement and stationing of 479 00:40:32,93 --> 00:40:37,65 trainers against us. Muslim rebels in the south in Mindanao to have the U.S. 480 00:40:37,66 --> 00:40:42,33 Get back into the Philippines and I think that is happening now and there's quite 481 00:40:42,34 --> 00:40:46,95 a large movement growing in the Philippines against that and of course we see the 482 00:40:46,96 --> 00:40:52,07 instability just this week possibility of renewed conflict between North and South 483 00:40:52,08 --> 00:40:58,83 Korea and a huge movement in South Korea against U.S. 484 00:40:58,84 --> 00:41:04,70 Naval bases air bases that has been quite successful in winning public support in 485 00:41:04,71 --> 00:41:08,74 South Korea among farmers among youth You see you know can now walk quite 486 00:41:08,75 --> 00:41:15,06 a powerful movement and so you really do see some successes in mobilizing people 487 00:41:15,07 --> 00:41:20,23 against these bases and Jeju Island in particular where farmers have been opposing 488 00:41:20,24 --> 00:41:25,96 a Navy base and where on the mainland where farmers oppose the expansion of the 489 00:41:25,97 --> 00:41:29,80 base now not very successfully but still the U.S. 490 00:41:29,81 --> 00:41:36,62 Is not popular in South Korea like used to be or seemingly popular. I think 491 00:41:36,68 --> 00:41:39,66 less so I think Colombia there's been 492 00:41:39,78 --> 00:41:45,66 a whole. Counterinsurgency campaign by the United States which is becoming more 493 00:41:45,67 --> 00:41:48,04 unpopular among Colombians and that in 494 00:41:48,05 --> 00:41:53,54 a sense if you remember the eighty's Colombia's the new all Salvadoran Venezuela as 495 00:41:53,55 --> 00:41:59,94 the new Nicaragua it's really not that much different. Does seem to have some. 496 00:42:01,69 --> 00:42:06,33 More stability than I would have thought having been targeted so much by the United 497 00:42:06,34 --> 00:42:12,00 States I think the new place to really look is Africa with Africa and I think that 498 00:42:12,01 --> 00:42:18,44 the the intervention in Libya and the interventions in Somalia have been really to 499 00:42:18,45 --> 00:42:24,75 justify the existence of Africa for calm or the Africa Command which was which is 500 00:42:24,76 --> 00:42:30,80 headquartered in Germany but I'm sure will be headquartered very soon in Tripoli. 501 00:42:32,54 --> 00:42:33,86 And you have 502 00:42:33,87 --> 00:42:40,76 a whole. Series of. Us. Exercises of arming 503 00:42:41,00 --> 00:42:45,97 the regimes in North Africa so that's how I want to talk about is kind of the 504 00:42:45,98 --> 00:42:51,70 future the positioning of new bases and this comes out of the Rumsfeld doctrine 505 00:42:51,71 --> 00:42:57,28 that's been taken up by was taken up by Gates is taken up by Panetta and this is 506 00:42:57,29 --> 00:43:03,16 the idea of more small forward deployments and base access agreements they know how 507 00:43:03,17 --> 00:43:09,02 unpopular it is to have these large communities of Americans move in to another 508 00:43:09,03 --> 00:43:12,89 country and kind of dominate the culture and the economy around the base 509 00:43:12,90 --> 00:43:19,59 communities and so they want smaller bases they want just the soldiers or airmen or 510 00:43:19,60 --> 00:43:24,77 Marines themselves and that their families to join them so what we're seeing. At 511 00:43:24,78 --> 00:43:30,13 coffee strong is more families are split up by deployments than used to be the case 512 00:43:30,13 --> 00:43:36,82 . More used to civilian contractors more logistics and positioning supplies 513 00:43:37,06 --> 00:43:43,66 less sprawling less visible kind of presence and this is what Rumsfeld called the 514 00:43:43,67 --> 00:43:49,84 lily pad strategy and also to kind of use the shell game to move around bases 515 00:43:50,78 --> 00:43:57,72 from places where they're very unpopular like Germany Saudi Arabia Iraq 516 00:43:57,73 --> 00:44:03,45 South Korea Okinawa Ecuador Kirghiz Stan and to move them in places either where 517 00:44:03,46 --> 00:44:08,37 they're popular which is in very many places or the governments at least support 518 00:44:08,38 --> 00:44:13,31 them so places like Romania Kuwait the Philippines U.S. 519 00:44:13,32 --> 00:44:18,30 Positions like Guam and Hawaii kicked out of career or Okinawa have them go to 520 00:44:18,31 --> 00:44:23,41 Hawaii or Guam Pru or Colombia instead of Ecuador Panama instead of Ecuador. 521 00:44:25,06 --> 00:44:32,01 So we see these very powerful movements in Okinawa in and when they're 522 00:44:32,02 --> 00:44:37,92 successful the bases the Marines and the facilities are moved to a U.S. 523 00:44:37,93 --> 00:44:43,10 Position Likewise if there's opposition in Guam they end up getting sent to Hawaii 524 00:44:43,67 --> 00:44:47,77 and so this shell game of not only pitting these different territories against each 525 00:44:47,78 --> 00:44:53,78 other but different he war and anti bases movements against each other is 526 00:44:53,79 --> 00:44:57,51 a definite strategy of the United States and that's why it's so important to have 527 00:44:57,52 --> 00:45:03,91 international unity and not just to say not in my backyard so what John was he 528 00:45:03,92 --> 00:45:09,50 Poland and I last thing I want to show you is we have. Google Earth. 529 00:45:11,13 --> 00:45:17,64 Site where you can actually download. A database 530 00:45:17,68 --> 00:45:23,96 and superimpose it on Google Earth and show where the U.S. 531 00:45:23,97 --> 00:45:29,79 Military bases are and be able to zoom in and actually identify those bases so you 532 00:45:29,80 --> 00:45:34,16 can get that at the transnational Institute You could also email me I could give 533 00:45:34,17 --> 00:45:34,30 you 534 00:45:34,31 --> 00:45:39,84 a direct link I could show you I think we're on on line I think too and the other 535 00:45:39,85 --> 00:45:44,67 thing that we're doing is militarism watch which is really building research skills 536 00:45:45,25 --> 00:45:51,55 to help with demilitarisation activism So one of my students for instance was 537 00:45:51,56 --> 00:45:57,15 looking at the use of depleted uranium at Joint Base Lewis McChord there are quite 538 00:45:57,16 --> 00:46:03,18 a few people who are doing Freedom of Information Act requests who are trying to 539 00:46:03,19 --> 00:46:10,09 look at. Some of the social security situations around various bases or 540 00:46:10,10 --> 00:46:12,77 just look at military budgets there's 541 00:46:12,78 --> 00:46:18,21 a real need and if there are people who are either in academia or just want to do 542 00:46:18,22 --> 00:46:21,67 things on their own this is something that's very useful there are very few people 543 00:46:21,74 --> 00:46:25,86 doing this kind of work and the military believe it or not actually reveals 544 00:46:25,87 --> 00:46:30,50 a lot if you know where to look and so it's one of the things that people can do on 545 00:46:30,51 --> 00:46:33,77 a low level you can do it as an individual you can do it as 546 00:46:33,78 --> 00:46:39,22 a small group has to do research either the base near you or bases elsewhere or of 547 00:46:39,23 --> 00:46:41,31 weapons sales to 548 00:46:41,32 --> 00:46:47,63 a particular country and kind of pierce that fail of secrecy that we see out there 549 00:46:48,42 --> 00:46:53,91 a really good source I think one of the best books that's out there on bases is an 550 00:46:53,92 --> 00:46:58,93 anthology added to by Catherine called the bases of empire and I've used that in my 551 00:46:58,94 --> 00:47:00,16 class the people charged 552 00:47:00,17 --> 00:47:06,43 a fee of American empire because it not only gets sent to the depressing stuff 553 00:47:06,51 --> 00:47:09,56 about domination. The country or the you for 554 00:47:09,57 --> 00:47:14,64 a mental contamination or the the assaults that have taken place against civilian 555 00:47:14,65 --> 00:47:20,01 women around bases it also gets into some of the more hopeful things where we have 556 00:47:20,02 --> 00:47:26,31 seen in places like the Philippines Ecuador. Saudi Arabia 557 00:47:26,53 --> 00:47:31,92 Panama. Many countries have U.S. 558 00:47:31,93 --> 00:47:37,94 Military bases and there's been quite a successful movement even against U.S. 559 00:47:37,95 --> 00:47:42,84 Installations like radar and Poland and Czech Republic places where you wouldn't 560 00:47:42,85 --> 00:47:46,09 expect it and so there really is 561 00:47:46,10 --> 00:47:51,51 a global network. If you go to no bases dot org The international network for the 562 00:47:51,52 --> 00:47:54,07 abolition of foreign military bases that's 563 00:47:54,08 --> 00:48:00,20 a real goal it's really easy for people to understand no foreign military bases no 564 00:48:00,24 --> 00:48:04,50 military bases by any country outside its own borders it's 565 00:48:04,51 --> 00:48:07,65 a pretty simple idea it would save us one hundred billion bucks 566 00:48:08,36 --> 00:48:12,95 a year and it probably would cut down on the number of wars that are happening. 567 00:48:15,71 --> 00:48:22,61 Do I teach that at Evergreen. I do teach at Evergreen but I do it in 568 00:48:22,62 --> 00:48:26,81 a way you know where there's two sides and where there's debate I'm giving you my 569 00:48:26,82 --> 00:48:33,66 opinion. I think I would say it with the facts 570 00:48:33,71 --> 00:48:38,02 sure I mean we could look at the military budget and actually my what my class has 571 00:48:38,03 --> 00:48:39,77 done is really interesting we do do 572 00:48:39,78 --> 00:48:44,03 a little workshop How would you build an alliance around 573 00:48:44,41 --> 00:48:46,54 a military base and I think we use 574 00:48:46,55 --> 00:48:52,83 a fictional town called. Oh poky coma which is 575 00:48:52,87 --> 00:48:59,14 a cross between OK now and coma. And we say you know who are the people who are 576 00:48:59,15 --> 00:49:04,21 affected by this military base so there are some students who are the environmental 577 00:49:04,22 --> 00:49:08,11 groups some who are the women's groups some who are the workers who work on the 578 00:49:08,12 --> 00:49:13,75 base. There are there are yeah there roleplay there are some who are local business 579 00:49:13,76 --> 00:49:20,19 leaders there are some who are soldiers or military families so that community you 580 00:49:20,20 --> 00:49:25,43 have around any military base in the world and what is it that you can talk with 581 00:49:25,44 --> 00:49:29,09 each other about what is it that might be 582 00:49:29,10 --> 00:49:32,89 a basis for dialogue between all those different people who have come from 583 00:49:32,90 --> 00:49:37,52 completely different places completely different interests I've done that workshop 584 00:49:37,53 --> 00:49:43,29 now three times and it's always the same result it's very interesting health 585 00:49:44,50 --> 00:49:47,49 health is the first thing that creates 586 00:49:47,53 --> 00:49:52,95 a common dialogue so that the common environment which is often contaminated around 587 00:49:52,96 --> 00:49:59,81 a base and also the social. The social costs 588 00:49:59,82 --> 00:50:06,26 the the stress that there has put on in particular women in the community the kind 589 00:50:06,27 --> 00:50:10,15 of working conditions that soldiers have to work under it's very dangerous work 590 00:50:10,16 --> 00:50:10,28 there are 591 00:50:10,29 --> 00:50:16,57 a lot of accidents so health and safety seems to be the one common denominator so 592 00:50:17,03 --> 00:50:22,11 and I see that in some places in the world it's been quite successful like in 593 00:50:22,12 --> 00:50:25,88 Puerto Rico they. Got rid of 594 00:50:25,89 --> 00:50:32,18 a naval bombing range by using that safety health and safety argument no chemicals 595 00:50:32,19 --> 00:50:38,90 no unexploded ordinance. Bombs flying around that's bad for 596 00:50:39,04 --> 00:50:44,05 kids and and that's how they've gotten rid of some of these bases and that very 597 00:50:44,06 --> 00:50:44,91 human argument. 598 00:50:56,31 --> 00:51:02,29 Well let me just give you one example in our area. In the squalene nation in this 599 00:51:02,30 --> 00:51:07,74 quality tribe. Which is down you know between Tacoma Olympia and they were 600 00:51:08,18 --> 00:51:13,62 a major They figured in the treaty rights. Campaign they had quite 601 00:51:13,63 --> 00:51:17,59 a large reservation but they lost seventy percent of it in one nine hundred 602 00:51:17,60 --> 00:51:24,56 seventeen to form Fort Lewis. Squali means people of the prairie Squali ops and 603 00:51:24,57 --> 00:51:30,23 their prairie where they gathered camis bulbous the where the women gather camis 604 00:51:30,24 --> 00:51:36,25 bulbs and they harvested other root crops and they they had horses out there on 605 00:51:36,26 --> 00:51:41,59 them on the prairie that prairie is now in the firing range. At Fort Lewis where 606 00:51:41,60 --> 00:51:44,22 they test the strikers the howitzers it's 607 00:51:44,23 --> 00:51:50,54 a very militarized area they used to shoot over the reservation into. 608 00:51:51,97 --> 00:51:56,56 Into Thurston County and then this quality very much objected to that they objected 609 00:51:56,57 --> 00:52:03,02 when the army ran its tanks through salmon spawning areas when they you know 610 00:52:03,03 --> 00:52:09,26 destroyed part of the. Prairie the groundwater became 611 00:52:09,27 --> 00:52:15,64 contaminated so. Squali I think probably played a role and cancelling of 612 00:52:15,65 --> 00:52:22,39 a proposed missile system that would have gone in at Fort Lewis so you can see the 613 00:52:22,43 --> 00:52:28,60 colonization of Native America was the template was the model for 614 00:52:29,75 --> 00:52:30,72 the U.S. 615 00:52:30,72 --> 00:52:37,56 . Spreading its military its imperial domination abroad and you can really see 616 00:52:37,57 --> 00:52:42,64 that in the Philippine American war that movie by John Sayles about the Philippines 617 00:52:42,65 --> 00:52:48,58 called I can remember the name of it but it really makes the point that the 618 00:52:48,59 --> 00:52:50,51 soldiers were told this is kind of 619 00:52:50,52 --> 00:52:54,76 a continuation of the Indian wars and you can really see the book in the book 620 00:52:54,77 --> 00:53:01,17 facing west you can see how Vietnam both the Philippines and later Vietnam were 621 00:53:01,21 --> 00:53:05,92 a westward extension of the Indian wars and how that the people were understood and 622 00:53:05,94 --> 00:53:10,23 I think when you look at Iraq and Afghanistan you hear all the time about Indian 623 00:53:10,24 --> 00:53:16,19 country what was bin Laden called he was called. And so you really have the 624 00:53:16,46 --> 00:53:22,42 colonization of North America of the nations of North America the army for its were 625 00:53:22,44 --> 00:53:29,27 military bases and our military bases that that was the. The structure 626 00:53:29,63 --> 00:53:34,59 that was exported to other countries so we really can understand what's going on in 627 00:53:34,60 --> 00:53:36,96 these countries and how there's a kind of 628 00:53:36,97 --> 00:53:42,86 a global war on tribes and all the talk about tribes in Afghanistan and Iraq has 629 00:53:42,87 --> 00:53:49,14 really modeled it goes back into that western American consciousness about who are 630 00:53:49,15 --> 00:53:54,43 the inferior people and who are the superior people so I think studying here really 631 00:53:54,44 --> 00:54:00,79 helps shed some light on what's going on over there and studying over there in the 632 00:54:00,80 --> 00:54:01,57 Middle East is 633 00:54:01,58 --> 00:54:07,05 a really good insight into our own history and what's weird is that in the Pentagon 634 00:54:07,25 --> 00:54:13,42 they're now studying the Indian wars and how they divided and conquered tribes. In 635 00:54:13,43 --> 00:54:17,72 order to study how they can do the same thing in particular in Afghanistan and 636 00:54:17,73 --> 00:54:21,35 Pakistan. And they're doing 637 00:54:21,36 --> 00:54:41,88 a lot of that kind of study. Yeah 638 00:54:41,89 --> 00:54:47,49 I think definitely all all empires have overextended themselves. 639 00:54:48,55 --> 00:54:53,100 Geographically economically and we can go back to the Roman Empire and we have two 640 00:54:54,01 --> 00:55:00,81 very recent examples the British Empire where Britain has become more or less 641 00:55:00,82 --> 00:55:07,16 a second rate power kind of licking its wounds. And doesn't have the global reach 642 00:55:07,17 --> 00:55:08,54 that it used to but it's more of 643 00:55:08,55 --> 00:55:15,21 a normal country than it used to be. Russia what the end of the 644 00:55:15,22 --> 00:55:18,59 Soviet Union in one thousand nine hundred one wasn't just the end of the Soviet 645 00:55:18,71 --> 00:55:22,96 Soviet Union and the end of the process that started in one thousand nine hundred 646 00:55:22,97 --> 00:55:26,47 seventeen of the Russian Revolution it was the collapse of the Russian empire that 647 00:55:26,48 --> 00:55:30,91 went back centuries and I don't think many Americans understand that and now you 648 00:55:30,92 --> 00:55:37,62 have Russia really examining what is what Who are we if we're not this large 649 00:55:37,63 --> 00:55:39,36 empire and we're at becoming 650 00:55:39,37 --> 00:55:46,22 a normal country. And I think you know when we talk as the peace and 651 00:55:46,23 --> 00:55:53,19 justice movement about the future we really should look at plausible scenarios that 652 00:55:53,20 --> 00:55:58,25 I think most people can grasp and I don't think most people can grasp the sudden 653 00:55:58,26 --> 00:56:03,59 collapse of the United States or even of the American empire but I think that they 654 00:56:03,60 --> 00:56:07,75 can they can envision the United States becoming 655 00:56:07,79 --> 00:56:10,73 a normal country and I think that that maybe is 656 00:56:10,73 --> 00:56:17,67 a way that we can phrase it is do we want to always have these wars that are not 657 00:56:17,67 --> 00:56:24,66 only killing foreign civilians but killing our own. And do we want to 658 00:56:24,67 --> 00:56:31,60 have our economy tied to this very shaky and risky proposition or do we want to try 659 00:56:31,60 --> 00:56:35,60 and become one of the two hundred countries in the world and there are so many 660 00:56:35,62 --> 00:56:39,26 advantages to doing that so I don't think it's 661 00:56:39,27 --> 00:56:45,28 a utopian vision. I think it's something that's very plausible and I think I think 662 00:56:45,30 --> 00:56:49,24 the strongest argument for it is that it's under way whether we like it or not and 663 00:56:49,24 --> 00:56:53,70 so we better get used to it and so I'm actually in 664 00:56:53,72 --> 00:56:58,05 a strange way I'm scared to death of a war in Iran. But in 665 00:56:58,06 --> 00:57:03,37 a strange way with the young people that I've met and their attitude towards war 666 00:57:03,38 --> 00:57:10,33 and I'm not just talking about evergreen. I think that that idea of the United 667 00:57:10,34 --> 00:57:11,16 States becoming 668 00:57:11,20 --> 00:57:17,78 a normal country without Imperial reach is attractive right now with the economy 669 00:57:17,79 --> 00:57:20,01 the way it is with our culture the way it is I think it's 670 00:57:20,02 --> 00:57:26,97 a window of opportunity we haven't had. In my lifetime. If 671 00:57:26,98 --> 00:57:27,78 you like very much.