Responding to the Militarists

During the recent Peace Convergence, I've heard a few comments in support of Operation Talisman Sabre amd the Shoalwater Bay military base. Below are my responces to some of them.

1] They need somewhere to train.

This is probably the most common argument in favour of ‘Operation Talisman Sabre’ and Shoalwater Bay military base. They (joint USA and Australian military) only need somewhere to train if Australia intends to follow the USA around the globe on various campaigns of aggression and neo-colonialism. I’d say Australia should stop doing this also, which would remove the need to train at Shoalwater Bay. New Zealand doesn’t have a ‘Shoalwater Bay style’ military base, and they aren’t in any danger. Actually they are probably safer for it.

Anyway, if this type of training ‘must’ happen, why not do it elsewhere, like California? It’s because the USA has been kicked out of all their previous international training bases for bad behaviour, and they don’t want to foul up there own nest.

2] The Americans helped save us in WW2, and are our friends.

I’d argue that this is not historically accurate. During World War 2, the overwhelming majority of the Japanese military was tied up trying to suppress Chinese insurgence and resistance. The Chinese resistance was mostly organised under two movements, one Nationalist/Capitalist, the other Nationalist/Communist. Between them they constantly tied up 4/5th of the Japanese military. At the same time the British and Americans kept losing to what was left, until the Japanese economy cracked and they could no longer fund the war. At this point the Japanese started an organised retreat, beginning at Kokoda Trail. So technically it was the Chinese nationalists that were instrumental in opposing Japanese imperialism.

This however is irrelevant. If the USA government really treated the Australian people as ‘friends’ they would not be bullying us to do what they want, or constantly calling in ‘favours’ for WW2. Surely the Australians killed in Vietnam was enough. Seriously, I’ve heard this argument used during the Sydney Olympics in regard to something the Americans wanted to do during the opening ceremony. Get over it.

3] The exercise gives valuable experience for humanitarian projects.

This is just plain military bullshit, I mean propaganda. These wargames give valuable experience in ship to shore bombing, amphibious landing/invasion techniques, occupation techniques for third world slums & controlling and co-ordinating the movements of large groups of soldiers.

None of these are humanitarian in nature, unless you believe that war itself is a humanitarian act. If this is the case, then the Orwellian sound bytes used by the Australian and USA governments have worked. And we will just forget about those Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction, peak oil, depleted uranium, and the Australian Wheat Board.

4] The military is helping to protect the environment of Shoalwater Bay.

Generally, I'd say the Australian military is doing a better job then the previous sand miners, but the best way of protecting Shoalwater Bay is to give it to the Durrunbul people. However
this argument has come in a number of forms. Below are a couple of quotes from two military personal.

# “We just leave tracks in the sand”

– On every other sand island, beach sand dune and national park, erosion from 4 wheel drives is considered an important environmental issue. I don’t see how tanks, and other military vehicles that are heavier then your average 4 wheel drive can cause less erosion to sand dunes.
– Besides this comment is just not true. During the last war games, bags of general rubbish from the USA war ships was washing ashore on the Sunshine Coast, and a flare washed up on the main beach of Yeppoon. The USA navy has it as policy to just dump all general waste, and most military waste, overboard into the ocean. This pollution from so many troops has a bad environmental impact. For example, loggerhead turtles do choke to death on plastic bags, thinking they are jelly fish. These get dumped on mass by the USA military.
– Also no one goes around picking-up the spent munitions after they have been fired. These leach toxins into the soil and water as they rust away on the ground or in creeks. And that is not considering the chemical cocktails released by the explosives themselves, including red phosphorus, white phosphorus and perchlorate.
– The noise pollution from the live firing and sonar does damage to local humans and animals alike. The sonar can lead to death or injury for all sea mammals, including the endangered White Whale.
– The warship anchors rip-up sea grass meadows and coral reefs, destroying marine habitat. Besides many of these are nuclear machines, carrying nuclear weapons and are not safe to have anywhere.

# “I was in the army and I had to get a permit to chop down a tree. So the military must be caring for the environment”

No doubt this is true. It is also true now for many farmers, and I know many of them don’t give a rat’s arse about the environment.

What I’m saying is that bureaucracy doesn’t always translate into care for the environment. Especially in this case, where the Australian government has prevented any environmental regulations from being applied tom the military. Environmental regulations only work when an individual or organisation can be publicly held accountable. The Australian military just isn’t.