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5. United States Uses Tsunami for Military Advantage lhe tragic and devastating power of December 2004's Indian Ocean tsunami was plastered across the cover of practically every newspaper around the world for the better part of a month. At the same time that US aid was widely publicised domestically, the coinciding US military motives were virtually ignored by the press. While supplying aid (which, when compared proportion- ately to that of other, less wealthy countries, was an insulting pit- tance), the US simultaneously bolstered military alliances with regional powers in, and began expanding bases throughout, the Indian Ocean region. The US desire to curtail China's burgeoning economic and military might is contingent upon its control of this Betty McCollum of Minnesota, Ron Paul of Texas and Dennis 5. United States Uses Tsunami for Military Advantage Moore of Kansas, and heightened public awareness of the MATRIX, lhe tragic and devastating power of December 2004's Indian the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 was signed Ocean tsunami was plastered across the cover of practically into law on December 13, 2003. every newspaper around the world for the better part of a month. The Act expands the definition of a surveillable financial institu- At the same time that US aid was widely publicised domestically, tion to include real estate agencies, insurance companies, travel agen- _ the coinciding US military motives were virtually ignored by the cies, Internet service providers, post offices, casinos and other busi- press. While supplying aid (which, when compared proportion- nesses as well. ately to that of other, less wealthy countries, was an insulting pit- Due to massive corporate mergers and the acquisition of reams of tance), the US simultaneously bolstered military alliances with newly acquired information, personal consumer data have been made _ regional powers in, and began expanding bases throughout, the readily available to any agency interested in obtaining it, both com- Indian Ocean region. The US desire to curtail China's burgeoning mercial and governmental. economic and military might is contingent upon its control of this According to an update from Anna Miranda of the American Civil _ area. Liberties Union (ACLU), MATRIX was officially shut down on During subsequent tsunami relief operations in the following April 15, 2005. The program, which consisted of 13 states—and months, writes Rahul Bedi in the /rish Times, the United States only had four states remaining prior to its closure—received $12 mil- _ revived the Utapao military base in Thailand, which it had used dur- lion in funding from the Department of Justice and the Department of — ing the Vietnam War, and plans to move Task Force 536 there to Homeland Security. establish a forward positioning site for the US She notes that the tremendous explosion in Air Force. It reactivated its military cooperation surveillance-enabling technologies, combined agreements with Thailand as well as the Visiting with the ongoing weakening in legal restraints . Forces Agreement with The Philippines. that protect our privacy, mean that we are drift- The United States US Navy vessels also utilised facilities in ing toward a surveillance society. has had trouble Singapore, in keeping with previous treaties. For instance, with the application of radio-fre- a 0 — Further, the USNavy and marines arrived in Sri quency identification chips (RFIDs)—individu- expanding its military Lanka to bolster relief measures, despite the alised computer chips capable of communicating influence in the tsunami-hit island's initial reluctance to permit with a receiving computer—consumer behaviour . their entry. can literally be tracked from the point of pur- region largely due The US also stepped up its survey of the chase to the kitchen cupboard and can be moni- to su spicions by Malacca Straits, over which China exercises con- tored by all interested parties. On May 10, 2005, President Bush Indonesia and secretly signed into law the Real ID Act, i requiring states within the next three years Malaysia that the to issue federally approved electronic US Is disguising identification cards. Attached as an i H H amendment to an emergency spending bill imperial aims under the goal of waging war against terror. siderable influence and through which 90 per cent of Japan's oil supplies pass. The United States has had trouble expanding its military influence in the region largely due to suspicions by Indonesia and Malaysia that the US is disguising imperial aims under the goal of waging war against terror. The two countries have opposed an American plan to tighten security in the vital Malacca Straits shipping lanes—a plan which might have involved US troops being stationed nearby. The Bush Administration is reviving its funding troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Real ID Act was passed without the scrutiny and debate of Congress. One of the main concerns about the electronic identification card is identity theft. The Act mandates the cards to have anti-counterfeiting measures, such as an hopes of normalising military ties with electronically readable magnetic strip or Indonesia, writes Jim Lobe for Inter Press RFID chip. Privacy advocates argue that RFID chips can be read Service. The world's most populous Muslim nation, with its strategi- from "unauthorised" scanners, allowing third parties or the general _ cally located archipelago, critical sea lanes and historic distrust of public to gather and/or steal private information about an individual. China, has made it an ideal partner for containing Beijing. The Real ID Act has given no consideration to this drawback. According to Rahul Bedi, Washington has also long wanted a Other privacy concerns regarding the electronic identification card _ naval presence in Trincomalee, eastern Sri Lanka, or in Galle, further is the use of information by third parties once they've scanned the south, to shorten the supply chain from its major regional military cards and accessed the information. At this time, the Act does not base in Diego Garcia, which the British Indian Ocean Territory specify what can be done with the information. A company or organ- _ leased to the US in 1966 for 50 years. Diego Garcia's geostrategic isation scanning your identification card could potentially sell your _ location in the Indian Ocean and its full range of naval, military and personal information if strict guidelines on what to do with the infor- communications facilities give it a critical role supporting the US mation are not mandated. Navy's forward presence in the North Arabian Sea and the Indian Inability to conform over the next three years will leave US citi- Ocean region. However, because of the base's remoteness and the zens and residents paralysed. Identification cards that do not meet the _ fact that the lease with Britain expires in 2016, the US is seeking an federally mandated standards will not be accepted as identification _ alternative location in the region. for travel, opening a bank account, receiving social security payments Long before the tsunami struck, an article dated April 21, 2003, by or obtaining government benefits, among other things. Josy Joseph on Rediff.com, explained that a classified report com- (Sources: Information Management Journal, March/April 2004; missioned by the United States Department of Defense expresses a LiP Magazine, Winter 2004, http://www.lipmagazine.org; Capitol _ desire for access to Indian bases and military infrastructures. The US Hill Blue, June 7, 2004; ACLU, http://www.aclu.org/) Air Force specifically wants to establish bases in India. region largely due to suspicions by _ Indonesia and Malaysia that the US is disguising imperial aims under the goal of waging 14 = NEXUS The United States has had trouble war against terror. www. nexusmagazine.com DECEMBER 2005 — JANUARY 2006