Just days after putting military pay cuts and TRICARE cuts on the table, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was reported to be in attendance at the secretive Bilderberg meeting, held in Switzerland last week. It is possible Secretary Gates' attendance is necessary to better align the interests of NATO within the current conflicts within Libya and the larger African continent. However, despite the potential need for these wars, military benefits should not be the target of budget cuts in an effort to finance them.
While the large agenda of the Bilderberg meeting has yet to be disclosed, certain political heads are rumored to have been proposed for promotion at the World Bank and the IMF. Hillary Clinton is now rumored to have had her name placed in the ring as the new head of World Bank. Three names have been floated to succeed former IMF head Strauss-Kahn. Insiders claim the vote will be cast for Agustin Carstens of Mexico, which would be the first time the position went to a Mexican banker.
As has been reported, Clinton has worked closely in reorienting NATO, along side Secretary Gates, to share the burden of the new war in Libya. According to the New York Times, Clinton was instrumental in the push for U.S. involvement in Libya within the Obama Administration.
To summarize U.S. involvement there, the war with Libya was initially dubbed as a few day excursion (kinetic action) to help support protestors in their attempt to overthrow President Qaddafi. This has caused the U.S. military to align with an unusual bedfellow, al Qaeda. The current conflict in Libya has led to U.S. funding of al Qaeda rebels in the region, as many of the rebels have purported an allegiance to the terrorist group. The U.S. has allowed these same rebels to sell oil from various Libyan oil wells they control. Assumedly, the revenue will be used to finance the rebel movement against the Libyan government.
Secretary Gates went to the Bilderberg meeting in Switzerland following his rebuke of European allies in Brussels. Gates has expressed concerns of the financial burdens and military burdens from these new wars on the U.S. With the U.S. now embroiled in at least three public wars throughout the world, it is no shock that his office has also turned to TRICARE cuts and cuts to military pay in an effort to stave off the costs of war.
But with all this news, it may be time for Gates and Clinton tell the American public why wars on two continents are necessary for the safety of its people. Regardless of any reason given, military members and their family should not be targeted to compensate for any shortcomings in financing these wars – not now, not ever. Surely with all those friends in high places, Secretary Gates could find someone else to shoulder the financial shortfall.
