The Carter Doctrine goes global

Progressive, The, Dec, 2004 by Michael T. Klare

The Carter Doctrine now covers much of the planet. In addition to protecting the oil of the Gulf, Centcom forces have also assumed responsibility for the protection of energy supplies in Central Asia and the Caspian region. At the same time, forces from the European Command are helping to protect oil pipelines in the Republic of Georgia and oil-rich waters off the coast of Africa. Forces from the Pacific Command guard the oil lanes of the South China Sea. And troops from the Southern Command are helping to protect pipelines in Colombia.

The globalization of the Carter Doctrine began in the mid-1990s, when the Clinton Administration determined that the Caspian Sea basin--until 1992 under the effective control of the Soviet Union--could become a major source of oil for the United States and its allies, thereby helping to lessen U.S. dependence on the ever-turbulent Persian Gulf. The newly independent states of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan were eager to sell their petroleum wealth to the West, but they lacked a conduit for exports. At that time, all existing pipelines from the (landlocked) Caspian passed through Russia and also faced serious challenges from ethnic minorities and internal opposition movements. To safeguard the future flow of Caspian oil, Clinton agreed to assist in the construction of a new oil pipeline from Baku in Azerbaijan through Georgia to Ceyhan in Turkey (thus bypassing Russia) and to help these states enhance their military capacity. American military aid began flowing to these states by 1997, and U.S. troops initiated a series of annual joint military exercises with their forces.

"In a world of growing energy demand," Clinton declared during a 1997 White House meeting with Heydar Aliyev, the president (and virtual dictator) of Azerbaijan, "our nation cannot afford to rely on any single region for our energy supplies." By facilitating Azerbaijan's oil exports, "we not only help Azerbaijan to prosper, we also help diversify our energy supply and strengthen our nation's security."

Clinton also extended this formula to Kazakhstan, another promising source of petroleum, and to Georgia, a major way-station on the proposed pipeline from Baku to Turkey. Clinton authorized military-to-military ties between the Pentagon and these countries' armed forces, and sent U.S. troops on familiarization visits to bases in the region. Although modest in comparison to the military buildup long under way in the Persian Gulf area, these moves established a significant U.S. presence in the Caspian basin. These ties were later utilized by President Bush to facilitate U.S. intervention in Afghanistan following 9/11, but it is important to note that their establishment was originally motivated by a concern over the safety of energy supplies, not the threat posed by terrorism.

President Bush has made the globalization of the Carter Doctrine a central objective of American foreign policy. His National Energy Policy, widely known as the Cheney Report, came out on May 17, 2001, and called for a substantial increase in U.S. oil imports in order to satisfy soaring demand for basic energy. The National Energy Policy affirms that because domestic U.S. oil production faces long-term decline, the pursuit of additional foreign supplies must be made "a priority of our trade and foreign policy." In particular, this means obtaining more oil from the Persian Gulf. "Middle East oil production will remain central to world oil security," the report notes, and so "the Gulf will be a primary focus of U.S. international energy policy." But the National Energy Policy also acknowledges the risks entailed in overreliance on the Gulf, and so calls for "greater diversity of oil production."