Ten years ago today the U.S. destroyer Cole was refueling in the harbor of Aden, Yemen when a small boat filled with explosives sidled up along side it and detonated. This suicide mission killed 17 U.S. Navy sailors and injured another 39. In this article Remember the Cole author Jim Arkedis, the director of the National Security Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, points out how our dependency on fossil fuels adds to our struggles in the war with Al Qaeda in ways many of us may not have considered.
The U.S. military in Afghanistan receives its fossil fuels by truck and according to Arkedis the "Taliban has executed seven attacks against fuel supplies traveling to NATO troops in Afghanistan, torching more than 75 fuel trucks in the process." The results of these attacks? Increased cost to buying fuel, $13 -$400 a gallon, according to Secretary Ray Mabus, along with increased military to protect the fuel. All of these attacks have occurred within the last eleven days and Arkedis suggests that the attack on the Cole, so quickly forgotten, along with the continued attacks on fuel transports, is a clear cry out to allocate funds to green energy and that this should start with the military.
Quoting Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway: "Energy choices can save lives on the battlefield." Personally I cannot agree with them more, however this editorial does leave a gapping hole. The very fact that our war in Afghanistan very likely is being fought over oil. Never mind the refined gold that we are trying to get to our troops, but the actual fields of oil we are presently camping on. At this point it is fairly undeniable the role oil is playing in our current wars, so I find this article strangely wanting. Yes, I agree it is tragic that the gas we are trying to get to our troops, for basic necessities, is a prime target for Al Qaeda. Could this be a classic example of criminalizing the symptoms while condemning the cure?
Arkedis continues with an idea I enjoy. Renewable energy. Then avoids the very reasons our troops are being attacked for fuel. He relates some of the difficulties and successes behind the military greens. The Marines have reportedly begun using "solar panels, energy-efficient lights and tent shields for insulation." Remember the Cole goes on to report on green-power projects and mobile nuclear reactors and Secretary Mabus's plans for an "energy-independent" military. By 2020 Mabus wants half of the Navy to use alternative energy reports Arkedis. It is pointed out in this editorial that most of our current technological innovations have come from funds allocated to the Pentagon and tested within our military. From radar to the internet we have funded our military and have gloried in the results.
I would like to see military funding go toward advancements in the realm of sustainable energy, however, I can't help but wonder, what wars will there be to fight if we are free of our love affair with fossil fuels?
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