Location, Location, Location

"The point is, Ladies and Gentlemen, that greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good."

This phrase, though seemingly obvious, was first introduced to us by Michael Douglas' character Gordon Grekko in the 1987 flick Wall Street . It must have caught the attention of US policymakers, as this seems to be the guiding philosophy of where to place our military.

In an excerpt from "Being 'Over There'", Col. Daniel Smith explains how we go where the resources lead us. Since becoming a global superpower, the United States has forced its military into every country that offers some resource or benefit. Forget whether or not the country is our enemy or our ally, we'll find some excuse to be where the resources, notably oil in recent years, tend to be.

As Smith points out, "the Pentagon hopes that its plan, the Global Posture Review, when fully implemented, will allow for rapid, tailored responses to contingencies that could arise from any one of a number of 'vital national security interests. ... [O]nly two of these circumstances are paramount: countering any new outbreaks in the 'global war on terror' ... and reliable access to energy resources."

Despite the tragedy that unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration knew they had to take military action against whoever was responsible -- even if they weren't sure who that was at the time. So why not go where the oil is -- we're running out, the possibility of drilling in Alaska is controversial, and it will help us. It's not hard to follow the administration's logic -- it does make sense.

But that doesn't necessarily make it right. According to the 2003 Defense Department's "Base Structure Report" lists 702 foreign bases owned or leased by the Pentagon, with about 6,000 more installations in the U.S. and its possessions.

While this may feign political security that covers the administration's asses in many peoples' eyes, for the most part, all it does is piss the rest of the world off. We're seen as arrogant, ignorant and too aggressive. It may seem like a good strategy, but I fear it will come back to bite us in the ass eventually.

Invading peoples' space, placing permanent military bases down the street from their homes, flexing the intimidation muscle; these things tend to piss people off. And frankly, I can't blame them.