The Reality of Resource Allocation

Resource allocation, in the realm of energy means one thing: the country with the largest unhindered flow of oil to feed it's industry and infrastructure network wins. From the days of John D. Rockefeller to now, America has been the preeminent prospector and user of oil and it's constituent products. In order to ensure this flow of energy giving oil to our shores, we have invested in the largest most capable military force the world has ever seen. This presence is projected via our Navy's aircraft carrier groups in every corner of the globe, with permanent bases supporting deployments on virtually every continent.

Many of you believe that we have this presence because the role of "Global Cop" has been thrust upon us in the wake of two World wars, The Cold War, the War on Drugs, and Islamic terrorism. The fact is this force was assembled with really only one goal in mind: to never allow another nation to come between us and the oil we so desperately need to function. Why else would we have the 5th Fleet based in Bahrain? Clearly it's not our unquenchable thirst for sand.

No, our only real motivations are resource hegemony and the containment of China now that Russia is no longer an economic or military threat. Much like the Great Game in late 19th century Europe when Great Britain and Russia were competing globally for resources and influence, we are now engaged in a battle for influence with the Chinese, not only for oil but for rare earth minerals crucial to the production of everything from smart phones to smart bombs. Witness the Obama administration restoring full diplomatic ties with Myanmar; this ploy has nothing to do with the recent freeing of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. It has everything to do with blunting the influence of China, in their own backyard, and gaining access to one of the worlds richest most diverse mineral producing regions.

Sounds great right? We can go anywhere, flex our military muscle, flash a few billion dollars in the faces of the corrupt, and walk away with all the glory and gold. A tried and true recipe for global dominance passed down through the millennia with only one guaranteed outcome.
Failure.
History is littered with the wreckage of regimes past, whose goals of global economic domination eventually led to their ignominious downfall.
Reality is America, until we as humans can live in cooperation rather than conflict over resources, there will be no peace.