Romney's Return of the Project for the New American Century, Which Brought Us the Iraq War

[unhappycamper]

http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/17605-romney-s-return-of-the-project-for-the-new-american-century-which-brought-us-iraq-war


Romney's Return of the Project for the New American Century, Which Brought Us the Iraq War
ELLIOT D. COHEN FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT
Monday, 29 October 2012 17:39

On October 6, 2011, Mitt Romney announced his foreign policy and national security team. About this advisory team, Romney glowing stated, "I am deeply honored to have the counsel of this extraordinary group of diplomats, experts, and statesmen. Their remarkable experience, wisdom, and depth of knowledge will be critical to ensuring that the 21st century is another American Century." The 21st century will be another American Century?

With less subtlety than Batman's Riddler, this language hauntingly mirrors the title of the (allegedly) defunct Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a well connected group of neoconservatives (including such notables as Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz), which controlled the George W. Bush administration. PNAC was, in fact, the network of deceivers behind the dummied up intelligence that led us blindly into a bloody war in Iraq. But like the Phoenix, this bellicose old bird has risen from the grave, and has now reincarnated itself as leading foreign policy advisors to Mitt Romney. Wearing the sheep's garb of centricity, it has attempted to reestablish itself in the White House; but what can we really expect from a Romney administration should this resurrected PNAC once again succeed in pulling the proverbial wool over American voters' eyes?

In 2000, shortly before George W. Bush took office, PNAC was quite clear about what it wanted the new administration to do. Its chief goal for another "American Century" was to transform America into a high-tech fighting machine that would routinely fight multiple wars simultaneously, including one in Iran. Its transformation would require increasing the budget for military expenditure to about 3.8 percent of the gross domestic product. It is therefore not surprising that Romney has followed suit in setting his proposed budgetary floor for national defense to no less than 4 percent of the gross domestic product (in contrast to Obama, who wants to reduce the budget to pre-2001, which was close to 3 percent of the GDP).

This would add about $2.1 trillion to the national defense budget; and while PNAC was clear about what the increased budget would include, Romney is just not saying. But we can take an educated guess! PNAC's proposal included selectively modernizing current US forces; developing and deploying global missile defenses "to provide a secure basis for U.S. power projection around the world,"--a euphemism for invading other nations without fear of retaliation; controlling the "new international commons of space and cyberspace," which would "pave the way for the creation of a new military service—U.S. Space Forces—with the mission of space control"; and exploiting the "revolution in military affairs" by not only updating conventional forces through advanced technologies, but producing "more profound improvements in military capabilities" by "encouraging joint-service experimentation efforts."

[Samantha]

1. Excellent thread

The potential return of a remodeled PNAC is something which we all need to keep right in front of our face at all times. These people are truly dangerous.

Recommended.

Sam