LevinK...you are right that all this did not start with Bush II...and probably not the Carter Doctrine either...and both Republicans and Democrats have supported this agenda over the years...what is different about Bush II is how far, fast, and brazen he is willing to protect this agenda...this to me shows either the delusions of a madman or that there is serious reason to believe it is necessary at this time.

Neither reason to justify Bush II's behavior are appealing to me.

And furthermore, the link they give about Pentagon future scenerios, which is:

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=155031

Should be read in totality - pure brain candy, and much of it is possible. Palm-sized "smart networking spying rocks"? Sure, no problem, easy to implement. Teeny spy mosquito-planes? I've always been skeptical but they're making good progress, hell the things are easier to make work than real planes, because of scaling laws. Robots? I "schpit" on robots, progress is uber-slow because it's hard to get stuff to run reliably in the physical sphere, but progress is being made. Best way to keep up with that stuff is to go to RoboNexus each year, for a nice view of the mechano-cornucopian view of the world and how modern middle class kids are being brought up to believe they have a right to energy-guzzling mechanical slaves.

Pray for Peak OIl.