Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Marines in Darwin: US Energy Imperialism and the South China Sea

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Marines in Darwin: US Energy Imperialism and the South China Sea

Click here to access article by David T. Rowlands from Monthly Review.

The author looks at the significance of Obama's latest move to establish a military base in Darwin, Australia. In his role as chief of US public relations (also known as the "President") Obama described this in terms of seeking to advance the cause of freedom in the Asia Pacific.

The rapid-response MEU [Marine Expeditionary Unit] in Darwin will be of direct benefit to Western oil interests in their quest to dominate the fossil fuel resources of the South China Sea. Contrary to the “humanitarian” impression created by Obama’s propagandistic Australian speeches, the Marines and their B-52s are coming to serve the corporate interests that they have served for at least a century.