“War without Borders”: Obama’s “Long War”

The concept of the “long war” has characterised military doctrine since the end of World War II. The broader objective of global military dominance in support of an imperial project was first formulated under the Truman administration in the late 1940s at the outset of the Cold War.

The 2000 Project for the New American Century (PNAC), which was the backbone of the NeoCon’s agenda  was predicated on “waging a war without borders”.  The PNAC’s declared objectives was to  “fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theater wars” in different regions of the World as well  perform the so-called military “constabulary” duties “associated with shaping the security environment in critical regions”. Global constabulary implies a Worldwide process of military policing and interventionism. (Project for a New American Century, Rebuilding Americas Defenses.pdf, September 2000)

The diabolical nature of this military project was adopted and implemented from the very outset of the Obama administration. With a new team of military and foreign policy advisers, Obama has been far more effective in fostering military escalation than his predecessor in the White House. 

Under the Obama presidency, this global military project has become increasingly pervasive. Military escalation as well as the Worldwide deployment of US military might are an integral part of America’s “long war” military doctrine, to which the current administration is firmly committed. The nature of the long war was recently reaffirmed by the Vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps General James Cartwright:

“[For the next] “five to 10 years…. the military likely will remain engaged in the same kinds of conflicts it has been fighting since 2001 … [N]o one I know thinks we’ll be out of” these kinds of conflicts any time soon. There is nothing out there that tells us we won’t be wrapped up in these conflicts for as far as the eye can see.. ” quoted in John T. Bennett, Cartwright: Expect war for 5-10 more years – MarineCorpsTimes.com, May 14, 2010)

Cartwright in his presentation to the Washington based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) also confirmed the global nature of America’s military adventure, stating unequivocally that the US military will be involved  “in different places and at different levels,” (Ibid).

Cartwright’s statements are consistent with the overall military doctrine of waging a global war under the US-NATO banner. Escalation of the Middle East Central Asian is part of a carefully planned scenario. According to The Army Times report:

“He [Cartwright] did not point to specific nations into which U.S. forces or assets might be deployed over the next decade beyond Iraq and the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.” (Ibid)

Establishing a Military Assembly Line

Cartwright also called for a significant increase in the production of advanced weapons systems. The underlying emphasis is on sheer quantity, namely the establishment of a military assembly line as opposed to the commissioning of new “expensive” weapons systems: “We need quantity more than quality”, namely the mass production of military hardware. 

Cartwright also called for a massive increase in the number of US troops.

Cartwright’s speech at CSIS was part of the Military Strategy Forum (MSF) focusing on the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), which is sponsored by Rolls Royce, which  together with GE has developed the F136 advanced fighter engine designed for the Joint Strike Fighter. (Listen to audio of Cartwright’s speech at CSIS, Military Strategy Forum with General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 13, 2010)

“Humanitarian” Mandate: When War Becomes Peace

The Obama administration’s objective is to give a humanitarian image to the “long war”  and “global war on terror,” labels, which were presented to public opinion in the immediate wake of the 2001 9/11 attacks. 

In March of last year, the Defense Department’s office of security review stated that that “this administration prefers to avoid using the term ‘Long War’ or ‘Global War on Terror’ [GWOT.] Please use ‘Overseas Contingency Operation.’ ” (quoted by Scott Wilson and Al Kamen, ‘Global War On Terror’ Is Given New Name – washingtonpost.com, 25 March 2009)

The surge in troop deployment is part of a long war scenario, which is by no means limited to the Middle East and Central Asia. While the US and NATO are directly threatening Russia, China and Iran, the Obama doctrine tacitly denies the very existence of a war. What is increasingly presented to public opinion is a Worldwide counter-terrorism crusade against Al Qaeda.

A change of words and labels does not modify the nature of America’s global military design. What were dealing with is an intractable war, which in a very real sense threatens the future of humanity. 


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About the author:

Michel Chossudovsky is an award-winning author, Professor of Economics (emeritus) at the University of Ottawa, Founder and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal, Editor of Global Research. He has taught as visiting professor in Western Europe, Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Latin America. He has served as economic adviser to governments of developing countries and has acted as a consultant for several international organizations. He is the author of 13 books. He is a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His writings have been published in more than twenty languages. In 2014, he was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit of the Republic of Serbia for his writings on NATO's war of aggression against Yugoslavia. He can be reached at [email protected]

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