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Global Crisis in Civilization

Nick Kraynyk

The world today is at its most educated state we can cure disease, travel the globe and have the
worlds information at our fingertips yet we still face violence and war and now we face a new threat of
a degrading earth and ecosystem. These wars and occupations are nothing new, but the new factor of
climate change has changed the ballpark for large countries. When the British set out they were not
worried about climate change neither were the Romans or the Mongolians, but America and Allies are
worried about the climate this means a whole new set of challenges have arisen. These issues and
challenges were researched in this paper with a strong focus on the militarization of police forces and
terrorism as well as peak oil.
Militarization of police is something that has been growing around the world and even in our
backyard. The increase in police force has been to keep order in valued areas with the excuse of
terrorism on the tongues of the politicians. Ahmed describes how politicians label terrorism a
existential threat which means politicians can justify going beyond the normal security measures
that are within the law(Ahmed1). Violating constitutions and human rights are all to common for a
country that decides its enemies are terrorists. In America recently a branch of Government called the
National Security Agency has come under scrutiny for violating certain parts of the American
Constitution. This violation of human rights is evident in the NSA mission statement released in 2011,
it reads ...in order to gain a decision advantage for the Nation and our allies under all circumstances..
The mission statement does not mention the constitution of human rights anywhere but instead states
we are going to do whatever we want if we think it helps. Spying on civilians is just a small aspect of
militarization a more common procedure to ensure order is to just use the military.

In Ahmeds chapter about energy scarcity we are introduced to the term peak oil, which is
when global oil production reaches its absolute maximum capacity(Ahmed1). He points out that
inorganic energy is the bedrock of society, and capitalism and industrialization is what has pushed us to
this point. With the massive lack in alliterative energy technology western countries rely on cheap oil
for something around 90 percent of their energy demands which means when peak oil comes and the
oil industry crashes regular life will have a dramatic change(Ahmed4). Oil companies and research
groups under their pay have stated there will be a massive increase in discovery of new deposits as a
sort of last ditch effort to deny the doomed future because independent researchers have found no proof
of massive new discoveries ever happening. Not only do we face peak-oil but we face peak-coal and
peak-natural gas as well. All these will happen at different times but all within the next 20 years which
means the west and the western elite face a huge crash in economy and loss in power in the near future.
What will happen first is oil companies will develop new technology such as fracking and oil shale
extraction to try to delay to onset of peak-oil, the issue with this is none of these technologies are
deposits can supply America or the rest of the west. Which means more money is put into technology
that harms the environment, creates chaos and war in unstable countries and is in the end, part of a
doomed business instead of being used to fund new energy solutions. At this point in history we are
seeing a Global Land-Grab by the west to places like the Middle East for oil and gas or South
America for farms and cheap labor which means increased civil strife and increased war which is what
I have researched in the rest of this essay.
America has seen exploding military budgets, constitutional violations, secret prison camps and
depending how you count at least 2 new wars in the past 13 years. The American media and
government has been extremely successful in making sure this can all be justified in one word, 9/11.
Ahmed states post 9/11 brought on ...a new doctrine of power projection based on unilateral US power
at the expense of multilateralism.(Ahmed6). This new form of control was an effect of a rapidly
changing world order(Ahmed6). In reality the US had one goal on their mind and it was keep the

cheap oil coming. In the 90s and early 2000s, depending on your bias, peak oil was reached or about to
be reached and this was an issue for American economics. In this era of time most wealth and power is
held in the northern hemisphere and the majority of that wealth is in the hands of a few. The coming
energy crisis was an issue to these elites in the north as it signaled the coming end to the current system
and power layout. Thus the war on Terror was born as a response to the energy crisis as well as the
large amount of oil in Iraq and Afghanistan that was not being sold to America. Not only did the US
government use war to get their means they also used economics to dominate trade routes and prevent
rivals such as Russia from being able to compete.
In 2011 President Barack Obama promised to withdraw troops from places like Afghanistan and
Iraq, although actual reports show a different plan than what was spoken on TV. The wording of the
document titled Status of Forces Agreement actually showed that many troops will be left in Iraq
under the pretext of fighting terrorism and advising local police. The military left in Iraq from the
branches of army and marines mostly, is not an advising force and is not the correct branches for the
job. Richard Danzig estimates the residual force left in Iraq alone will total 30,000 to 55,000 troops
total. What Obama has accomplished by switching tactics is eliminating the legal requirements when
invading and being at work with another country such as holding soldiers accountable in local courts.
Looking at this issue we see a country restructuring its army to do a job they are not trained for in a
country that posses no threat to us and that just does not make sense to most people, so the question we
face is what is their actual motive? The actual motive is clear and it is oil. The agreement with the Iraqi
government allows the US to continue controlling billions of dollars of oil exports and allows the
president of the united states to have jurisdiction of the oil. The actual agreement reads as follows;

The US will remain committed to maintaining Iraq's request that the UN Security Council
extend the protections and other arrangements established in Resolution 1483 and the
resolution 1546 for petroleum, petroleum products, and natural gas origination in Iraq,

proceeds and obligations from sale thereof, and the Development Fund for Iraq.

Resolution 1483, in summary, states that all funds from the DFI would be held in the central
Iraq bank and distributed based on local authority. Although today we see that most of the money for
the Iraq Development Fund is held in New York and the local authoritys just happen to be American
commanders. An executive order by President Bush in 2003 directed the funds to the American banks
and soon after billions of dollars disappeared from the accounts. Since then the monster oil companies
have drawn up contracts and taken over the oil fields belonging to the Iraqis, with American companies
like Shell, Exxon being the main controller followed by British oil companies like British Petroleum
owning a much smaller portion, but still getting some action. In summary what this has accomplished is
doubling Iraqi oil exports and delaying the affect of peak oil. In a report by Greg Palast we see the plan
set forth by neoconservatives regarding Iraqs oil fields;

If Iraq's fields were broken and sold off, competing operators would crank up production. The
extra crude would flood world petroleum markets, OPEC would devolve into mass cheating and
over production, oil prices would fall over a cliff, and Saudi Arabia, both economically and
politically, would fall to its knees.

Essentially we see from this report not only a desperate attempt to delay peak oil, but an attempt
to topple a second country that has the massive oil reserves America is looking for. In the eyes of these
oil giants paving the way for America to topple a second oil producing company is a win win situation
both for the American government and the oil companies profits. A secondary effect predicted by the
increased oil output of Iraq the the undermining of the Iran economy to the point of reaching debt and
eliminating Iran oil company revenues. Reducing Irans power sets forward an even easier way to
restructure the middle east.

The government and the oil companies have a big problem though and that is the good honest
American they are representing. The American people do not want to see bloodshed, they do not
want to see their brothers and sisters killed by the Taliban and they do not want to see their buildings
blown up. So the government needs a way to create villains in these oil producing countries, and in this
case the Muslim religion was chosen as a perfect villain. Islam and Muslim extremism was decided to
be the biggest threat to Western Europe since the USSR was so longer an issue. Although we see
Samual Huntingtons publication detailing the same countries declaring Islam a threat were also the
ones funding and mobilizing Al Queada and the Taliban. After 9/11 security agencies decided terrorism
was widely spread through all Islamic communities and increased, unconstitutional, surveillance was
necessary. This has created a shift in places like Western Europe where court evidence has become
equal with suspicion where taking someones freedoms away through jail or other means. In Europe the
Muslims population is expected to double while white-non Muslim population will decrease 2.5
percent(Ahmed11). European intelligence states that by mid century Muslim population will
outnumber whites in France and the rest of Europe. They also predicted two percent, or half a million
people, are involved in radical Islam, even though no evidence exists to prove this to be true. Another
strong issue raised but not acted on yet is the increasing emigration to southern hemisphere countries,
with Africa being the main focus for Islam. This increased population and increased radicalism will
increase global crisis and civil unrest. Oil producing countries like Niger and Libya will soon have to
find food for thousands of extra citizens as middle east oil deposits deplete and a new source is
needed(Ahmed29). Another issue is the tendency for first world country birth rates to stay close to
death rates while developing countries like Africa and the middle east will see birth rates explode as
death rates lower as they move into more first world based practices. This will create a strong issue of
Social Integration as the majority will become the minority and other races will no longer see any
reason to assimilate into the culture of the country they moved to. This will lessen the power of the
elites and create strong civil unrest and this issue is something outlined mostly in Europe. French

president Nicholas Sarkozy in 2007 obviously aware this this problem stated There are way too many
Muslims in Europe this has created a shift and created anti Islamic views in the citizens of European
countries.
The growing suspicion and demonetization by security agency companies is only one issue we
must also view today media as the main culprit in creating these anti-Islamic views. Although we have
situations such as the pentagon bribing filmmakers since 1990 to make stories in support of military
propaganda we also have news outlets like Fox representing Muslims in a negative way almost ever
time. In a study conducted in London Muslims were portrayed as negative 91 percent of the time
(Ahmed29) . Another study showed two-thirds of British people portrayed Muslims as a threat, a
problem or both. This increasing anti-Islamic view has manifested in violence against normal Muslims
and worst of all in 2001 the US decided it could detain Muslims without trial for an indefinite time
period. The US National Security Entry-Exit Registration System conducted a call-in in where
visitors from 24 Arab countries were forced to register. No terrorists were found yet 13,000 of the
80,000 who registered were threatened with deportation and many were held in harsh
conditions(Ahmed29). The story in the UK is no different as thousands of men are detained with only a
few actually facing any charges. World-wide an estimated 100,000 Muslim men are being held without
charge in part of the CIA extraordinary rendition program(Ahmed29).
What these wars the propaganda in films and media and the detention of innocent Muslim men
has accomplished is the government to be able to explore its power limits and new ways to justify
expanding its control. It is easy to take away human rights if terrorism is the context and the
government has capitalized on this for years. What we see these days in the west and America specially
is the increased militarization of police forces. Protests are broken up through violence and civilian
activist groups are being spied on illegally. The police also have the same ability has the government to
label citizens are terrorists and to label activist groups as terrorist organization in national databases. As
the global crisis nears domestic impact will be controlled by a militarized police force. As more prisons

and detention camps are built to handle the predicted influx of terrorists more people are arrested for
non-violent protests and activism against the government. In 2008 in the peak of the financial crisis a
unit of the army was re-assigned to American soil to protect from terrorism either domestic or foreign.
As the global economy continues to crumble, and peak oil is reach, we can expect to see much larger
protests, bloodshed on American and European soil and even more of our civil liberties and
constitutional rights disobeyed all in the name of terrorism.
Lets imagine for the time you have been living under a rock since September 10th 2001, and
you ask Well what is terrorism?. The media will tell you there is a religion called Islam that threatens
the way of life of all white non-Muslims in Europe and in America it is responsible for the death of
thousands, and the government explanation wont be to far off from this as well. Although Ahmed
believes it goes further than that. He states the problem of terrorism can be understood without
examining three things first(Ahmed1).
1. The over dependence of the global political economy on hydrocarbon energies
2. The function of covert Western military intelligence in calibrating low-intensity warfare
to control potentially recalcitrant populations in order to secure and control
hydrocarbon energy supplies.
3. The covert function of Western military in facilitating criminal activities.
Put these issues together and we get a catastrophic threat as Ahmed calls it to the Western
world. Instead of fixing these issues though we see governments focus on fighting a war, setting up
new bases and increasing control over domestic populations. The western economy breeds terrorism as
a hydrocarbon based economy has created a strong motive and ability to control all the worlds
resources. We can see that more war could never solve terrorism, even if the war on terror actual goal
was to prevent terrorism it would never work, the only solution is a massive change in culture and
economy of the west. But yet America follows documents are decisions laid out post WWII that outline
a minimum controlled area to preserve global peace and prosperity for the west. Another strong reason

to continue this campaign to is prevent the rise of a new enemy and in the modern world this new
increasing enemy is the Taliban and Al-Qeada. The reason these groups are the new enemy is to make
sure the American government can justify and trick its people into believing that the Middle East
needed to invaded, not because the global elites did not want to give up power, but because terrorism is
an issue to all of us. Osama Bin Laden knew bombing the trade centers, or flying jets into them a few
years later would only provoke aggression from the USA. His ultimate goal in the attacks was to
destroy the American economy by entering a needless war as well as alerting the American population
to the corruption and decadence of the government that is supposed to represent them.
The American policy towards the middle east is to ...keep the sources of oil in the middle east
in American hands.(Ahmed3). This is why American government has allied with oppressive regimes
in the area that can control oil reserves which means continue to supply as long as possible. According
to the British Foreign office sheiks in the middle east were only created to retain foreign influence as
long as possible (Ahmed3). This meant propaganda was to be created and military trained in these
middle eastern kingdoms that ensured peace and stability and a continued supply of oil to the West.
Today we see the problem with using violence to control populations. In places like Libya and
Syria violence used against the population to prevent protests created civil war. In Iraq Saddam Hussein
used gas and soldiers to oppress and murder thousands of people and with the exception of Syria, (as of
the date I write this paper) all those leaders and their circles were destroyed by the people. We know
violence only works for a short period of time in the long run yet American government has continued
to finance these oppressive regimes apparently ignoring history and current events. Osama had decided
oppressive regimes are illegitimate governments set up by western foreign powers and Al-Qaeda was a
response to the western political repression of Muslims in those regimes(Ahmed3).
Another issue is who is paying for these terrorists to continue operation. The answer to that is
the Muslim countries in the middle east, most of which, are under American finance. This is a prime
example of how terrorism is bred from foreign over-dependence on oil. Not only is America funding

and creating the terrorists, but middle-eastern companies have begun to use mercenary groups to
further their own means. Foreign oil dependence has undermined its own security in the world and bred
a new enemy capable of bringing it down.
Not only is America funding countries who in turn fund the Taliban, the American government
itself has had close ties to Al-Qaeda all the way from 1980 to 2001. Al-Qaeda has worked as a proxy to
the American government since the expulsion of the Soviets in the cold war. It was claimed ties were
broken when the soviets fled but new evidence suggests Al-Qaeda was used to keep China and now
Russia sidelined(Ahmed6) and to decrease resistance to the US by appealing to the Muslim
communitys with Al-Qaeda.
In 1996 Osama moved back to Afghanistan after the Sudan asked him to leave. Pakistan
accepted his arrival as well but the Taliban were hesitant at first. The Taliban asked Sudan if they
wanted Osama back but the Sudan replied with a big no. Osama was accepted as a guest into the
Taliban and integrated his own fighters into the Taliban after a short time. Mohammed Omar the leader
of the Taliban a rarely seen man who is still loose somewhere in the middle east was praised in
speeches by Osama, as Osama began to integrate and be accepted by the Taliban. The Strike on the
U.S.S. Cole was the first time Osama acted outside the command of Omar, but soon all actions would
be carried out by Osama as Omar disappeared to live more like Muhammad did which he believed is
how true Muslims should live. During these times the Taliban was being sponsored by the United
States under the impression that the Taliban would be able to bring justice and stability to the middle
east. When the unlikelihood of this became clear America pressured the Taliban, racial identified as the
Talebs, to join their rivals the Tajiks, or Northern Alliance. American threatened military action if this
was not complied with and Al-Qeada responded with the 9/11 attacks.
Now that the Taliban is out of power in Afghanistan the pipeline project is back under control.
This pipeline through Afghanistan would bypass any Russian routes and has great interest from China
and central Asia(Ahmed11). The issue the pipeline faces is it needs to run though routes still controlled

by the Taliban which means Pakistan needs to become a new area of combat.
In 2006 then Senator Biden proposed splitting Iraq into three separate ethnically composed
areas with one central government overseeing common interests(Ahmed14). This would ensure
population control as fracture larger support between different races. Soon after that most of Iraq was
planned to be turned over to Jordan which would turn American favor in the region to an all time high.
With part of Iraq becoming a new state America could also justify staying in the middle east as a New
Country was formed and needed protection(Ahmed17). Further more during the invasion of Iraq
terrorist groups were formed and supplied with Chinese weapons to create terror and infighting
between Iraqis that would justify US presence(Ahmed19). These operatives were helped by US
military personnel and allied countries and created a strong reason in the eyes of Iraqi locals for
continued American presence in their country.
In summary we see that terrorism groups such as the Taliban or Al-Qeada not only are a byproduct of American, and western, imperialism but are actually funded by those same countries they
fight. The problem the world faces is their over-reliance on hydrocarbons, without this fuel the western
economy would collapse and power would be distributed back to smaller countries and economies
instead of a few western elite. This collapse is being delayed by continued imperialism and shady
practices in the middle east, as of today, and potentially Africa tomorrow. We also see the increased
military presence not only in foreign counties but in our own domestic front as the elites realize power
is slipping and peak oil means the end of their days. Increased surveillance on citizens and reduction in
ability to protest in crowded areas in America are the fuel for a fire that will burn America down soon.
Yet in America the citizens have so much to lose that no revolution will take shape, not until the
government starts taking even more away and turns its military onto the very citizens it is supposed to
protect.
The solution to all of this has been explored in class and will be restated here. As this essay
hopefully pointed out the issue of the global west's economy is hydrocarbon fuel, oil and natural gas, so

to save ourselves we need to change our economy and personal life to eliminate this dependence on
cheap oil. This can be done in many way such as creating a Green Economy and switching to
alternative means of production and energy sources. We also need to change the reputation of the
American government because American is the best country by far but we have a horrible and corrupt
government who feel as if they have free rein on its citizens and the worlds resources. My hope for the
future is replacing the current government and implanting a new non-imperialism goal government. We
need to ignore what massive oil companies want, or what companies like Monsanto want and instead
focus on solving issues on the domestic front such as hunger and poverty. If we successful switch to
alternative energy and transportation our military will no longer be needed on the scale it is today, since
it seems all we use the military for is to conquer weak countries. With a smaller military we can expect
a massive budget increase in other more important programs like social security and welfare with still
billions left over. As Penn and Teller state the secret to world piece is trade and dependence. If we
reevaluated our food industry and increased output and stability by small parcel farming instead of
invading South America we could create a food surplus, which is much more respectable to send to
smaller weaker countries than the weapons we send today.
To save the world we need to throw out western imperialism, we need to decrease our reliance
on hydrocarbons and we need to get rid of global corporations. It is easy to say and hard to do, but I
believe when peak oil passes and the American military turns its guns on its citizens based off an order
from the elite the citizens will win. When the citizens win we can expect a much better world.

http://www.nsa.gov/about/strategic_plan/
Ahmed Chapters- Terrorism, Militarization and Energy Crisis.