Environmental Warfare and US Foreign Policy: The Ultimate Weapon of Mass Destruction

2005-09-05

Richard Moore

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http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=GIL20040923&articleId=600

Environmental Warfare and US Foreign Policy: The Ultimate Weapon of Mass 
Destruction 
By  Scott  Gilbert 
September 23, 2004 

Environmental warfare may sound new to some, but it has been
researched extensively in military circles for years. The
first public description of weather modification techniques as
a weapon of war was made on 20 March, 1974. At that time the
Pentagon revealed a seven-year cloud seeding effort in Vietnam
and Cambodia, costing $21.6 million. The objective was to
increase rainfall in target areas, thereby causing landslides
and making unpaved roads muddy, hindering the movement of
supplies. (1) But interest in the exploitation of the
environment for military purposes did not end there.

Air University, located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama,
describes itself as a "center for advanced education" that
"plays a vital role in fulfilling the mission of the United
States Air Force" and whose "service members must place the
nation's defense above self." The Chief of Staff of the US Air
Force tasked Air University to "look 30 years into the future
to identify the concepts, capabilities and technologies the
United States will require to remain the dominant air and
space force in the 21st century." The study, completed in
1996, was titled Air Force 2025 . One component was of the
study was a paper titled Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning
the Weather in 2025 . It is a chilling document. It is evident
that the authors regard our environment as nothing more than a
resource to be exploited for military purposes. They claim
that by 2025 US forces can "own the weather" by "capitalizing
on emerging technologies and focusing development of those
technologies to warfighting applications." The authors
describe weather modification as having "tremendous military
capabilities" which "can provide battlespace dominance to a
degree never before imagined," claiming the project would be
"not unlike the splitting of the atom." The paper goes on to
discuss how ionospheric research (The ionosphere is a region
of the earth's atmosphere ranging from about 30 - 1200 miles
above the surface of the earth.) is necessary to achieve goals
in both enhancing US communication capabilities and as a
method of disabling enemy communications. "By 2025, it may be
possible to modify the ionosphere and near space, creating a
variety of potential applications." (2)

Dr. Bernard Eastlund, while working as a consultant for
Advanced Power Technologies Inc. (APTI) in the 1980s, patented
devices that are described as capable of "causingŠtotal
disruption of communications over a very large portion of the
EarthŠmissile or aircraft destruction, deflection or
confusionŠweather modificationŠ" (3) These patents were based
on the ideas and fundamental research of Nicola Tesla (many of
his ideas were stolen by US corporations). Some of Eastlund's
patents were temporarily sealed under a US Secrecy Order. APTI
and Eastlund's patents were quickly purchased by E-Systems, a
company that is home to many retired and currently employed
CIA agents. In 1993 E-Systems received $1.8 billion in
classified contracts. Raytheon, the fourth largest US defense
contractor and third largest aerospace company, currently
holds the patents. (4)

In light of the above, it is significant to know that since
the early 1990s the US Air Force has been sponsoring the
world's largest ionospheric modification project called HAARP
(High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program). HAARP,
located in the remote bush country of Gakona, Alaska, is a
small version of the antenna discussed in the Eastlund
patents. APTI initially won the contract to build HAARP.
Eastlund feels that the current version of HAARP, although the
largest ionospheric heater ever built, is not yet powerful
enough to bring the ideas in his patents to fruition, "But,"
he says, "they're getting up there. This is a very powerful
device. Especially if they go to the expanded stage." (5) What
they have done to date is definitely a necessary first step in
the overall objective. Eastlund says, "The military was
interested [in his patents] because, in the event of a Russian
nuclear attack on the United States, an Alaskan site would be
under the path of the incoming warheads."(6) HAARP is
currently a part of the ongoing Strategic Defense Initiative
(SDI), popularly known as "Star Wars". (7)

A 1990 internal document obtained by Popular Science describes
applications of the HAARP project as "Creating a "full global
shield" that would destroy ballistic missiles by overheating
their electronic guiding systems as they fly" and for
"manipulating local weather." (8) The word "local" was used
because some 150 international treaties prohibit "weather
warfare". (5) However, Pravda reported: "the works continued
anyway, despite the signed document. It was simply conducted
under the disguise of scientific research or the development
of double-purpose technology." (9)


HAARP is presented as a harmless scientific project, but The
Washington Post reported that a growing number of physicists
and others in the scientific community are becoming
increasingly skeptical. A "small group of American physicists,
some of whom have aired complaints in scientific journalsŠfear
HAARP may not simply be the benign research experiment
advocates describe, but possibly phase one of a secret US
military program that could be seeking ways to blow other
countries' spacecraft out of the sky or disrupt communications
over large portions of the planet." (6) Richard Williams, a
physicist and consultant to the David Sarnoff laboratory in
Princeton alleges HAARP constitutes "an irresponsible act of
global vandalism." He and others fear a secret second stage
where HAARP would "beam much more energy into the ionosphere.
That could produce a severe disruption of the upper atmosphere
at one location that may produce effects that spread rapidly
around the Earth for years." (6)

In 2002 the website globalresearch.ca reported that the
Russian State Duma's International Affairs and Defence
Committee expressed concern that "Under the HAARP program the
USA is creating new integral geophysical weapons that may
influence the near-Earth medium with high-frequency radio
wavesŠthe significance of this qualitative leap could be
compared to the transition from cold steel to firearms, or
from conventional weapons to nuclear weapons." The deputies
demanded an international ban on large-scale geophysical
experiments of this sort and sent the appeal to President
Vladimir Putin, news outlets, scientific groups, the UN and
others. The article went on to say that the HAARP program
"will create weapons capable of breaking radio communication
lines and equipment installed on spaceships and rockets,
provoke serious accidents in electricity networks and in oil
and gas pipelines and have a negative impact on the mental
health of people populating entire regions." (10)

Dr. Nicholas Begich, co-author of the book Angels Don't Play
This HAARP , depicts HAARP as "a super-powerful radio wave
beaming technology that lifts areas of the ionosphere by
focusing a beam on them and then heating them. Electromagnetic
waves then bounce back onto earth and penetrate everything -
living and dead." This ability allows for better communication
with submarines and wide-area Earth-penetrating tomography
(similar to radar) that can be used to locate underground
missile sites, bunkers and oil reserves. Through his research
he has come to the conclusion that HAARP has the potential to
jam global communication systems, change weather patterns over
large areas, interfere with wildlife migration patterns and
negatively affect human health. It is also capable of
potentially triggering targeted floods, droughts, hurricanes
and earthquakes. (11)

Dr. Rosalie Bertell, author of Planet Earth: The Latest Weapon
of War and founder of the International Institute of Concern
for Public Health, while writing on the background of HAARP
says, "It would be rash to assume that HAARP is an isolated
experiment which would not be expanded. It is related to fifty
years of intensive and increasingly destructive programs to
understand and control the upper atmosphereŠ It would be rash
not to associate HAARP with the space laboratory construction
which is separately being planned by the United StatesŠThe
ability of the HAARP/Spacelab/rocket combination to deliver
very large amount of energy, comparable to a nuclear bomb,
anywhere on earth via laser and particle beams, are
frighteningŠThe project is likely to be "sold" to the public
as a space shield against incoming weapons, or, for the more
gullible, a device for repairing the ozone layer." (12)

Michel Chossudovsky, professor of economics at the University
of Ottawa and Director of the Center for Research on
Globalization, says that "there are very clear statements by
the US Air Force to the effect that weather modification
technology is available, HAARP is fully operational and could
be used in actually military situations. It is evident weather
warfare does constitute an instrument of the Air Force, they
even identify the scenarios of its use." He said his interest
in the topic was sparked by the fact that it is possible to
change climate and disrupt electricity over large areas of the
Earth, effectively destabilizing portions of the globe and
paralysing national economies. This can be done without the
enemy even knowing the source of it. The health and economic
prosperity of entire regions could potentially be devastated
through climatic manipulations without the deployment of a
single troop or the firing of any munitions. It is naïve to
assume that those who ordered the development of the nuclear
bomb would not want total control over this technology.
Chossudovsky says HAARP can act as a "weapon of mass
destruction" because it can destroy industry, infrastructure,
agriculture and cause loss of life. He questions whether HAARP
should be used at all since it has "global and environmental
implications" and because it affects the electromagnetic field
of the Earth. (13)

In September 2003 the website globalresearch.ca reported that
a scientist who works in ionospheric research expressed
concern that the 14 August, 2003 blackout might have been "a
secret government test" that served multiple purposes
including "fulfilling requirements for sophisticated warfare
and security response." The author poses the question: Could a
secret HAARP experiment have caused the blackout? This article
was based on a number of facts that seemed oddly coincidental
given the circumstances. For example, the power went out a few
minutes after the closing bell on Wall Street and a few
minutes after HAARP was turned on that day. The power grid
that was affected was not the vulnerable California grid. The
data that would show where the effects of HAARP were directed,
by providing a picture of the ionosphere, were not posted on
the day of the blackout. He also commented on the possibility
that the HAARP heaters were directed at the power grid's
bottleneck while the grid was operating near full power. "The
sudden presence of electromagnetic energy could easily force
an unexpected increase in the power flow which could in-turn
cause a critical failure such as the one seen on August 14,
2003ŠThe only requirement to achieve geographic precision is
that geomagnetic activity be minimal such as it was on the day
of the blackout." There was also a short test conducted
shortly before 4pm. The author says such a test would serve
the purpose of "showing the researchers exactly where the beam
would focus itself given the current conditions, and would be
a necessary step before executing such an experiment." The
author describes how experiments of this sort would be an
"ideal way to test possible military applications of the
instrumentŠof course, this would need to be tested in a
controlled environment where the effects could be thoroughly
analyzed (such as on our own soil)Šthis was an excellent
homeland security response test." He concludes by saying
"Although it may sound like an episode of the X-files, the
facts are clear; HAARP is an ionospheric warfare tool, it is
capable of focusing it's electromagnetic energy at long
distances, it was turned on right at the time the event began,
and such a scenario would serve multiple national security
interests simultaneously with minimal economic impact." (14)
Michel Chossudovsky, by conferring with other well-known
scientists, was able to conclude, "this man knows the facts.
He can read and analyse scientific data and is well informed
on the impact of the HAARP program." Although the article does
not amount to proof, Chossudovsky feels that the author's
statements should be taken seriously and investigated. (13,
14)

The HAARP program was scheduled for completion in 2002 and
full-scale testing had started by early 2003. While there is
currently no conclusive proof that HAARP has ever been used
for weather manipulation, there have been numerous reports
describing very unusual weather and environmental conditions
throughout the world in recent years. In January 2003 Yuru
Solomatin, secretary of the Ukrainian Committee for Economic
Policy, writing in Pravda reported "A lot of specialists and
scientists believe that unpredictable natural disasters and
several Š catastrophes that struck Europe and Asia in the
summer of 2002 might have certain global reasons that caused
them all." He posits "a possibility of secret geophysical
weapon tests. Those tests were either secret or unauthorizedŠ
[Many] specialists and scientists believe that a special
American program HAARP is one of those developments."(9)
Chossudovsky says, "Even though we do not have clear-cut
information on particular climatic occurrences, when there are
very unusual weather patters that are occurring, which cannot
be explained by greenhouse gas emissions, we cannot exclude
the possibility of man-made climatic manipulations, based on
our understanding of climate." (13)

A primary objection to weather modification for military
purposes is that its use is indiscriminant and civilians will
inevitably be affected. Furthermore, the research necessary to
achieve these goals is dangerous. According to Bertell, HAARP
can make "long incisions in the protective layer of the
Earth's atmosphere."(7) As with the Manhattan project,
scientists working on this massive military project simply are
not able to determine for certain whether or not their
activities will cause irreparable damage. Nor do they seem to
care. In 1971 Science published an article titled Modifying
the Ionosphere with Intense Radio Waves in which the authors
describe the development of radio wave beaming technology for
ionospheric modification that has long been "a desire for
researchers." This new technology now allows them to conduct
research without the "associated complications" of a
laboratory. They now have a "plasma laboratory in the sky."
(15)

There is a dire need for this technology to be closely
monitored by multiple independent scientific bodies (it
currently is not) and, if it must be used, needs to be used in
such a way as to be beneficial to life on earth. It could be
used to increase food supply, repair the ozone layer or reduce
damage to civilian populations frequently affected by adverse
weather conditions. Sadly, current military agendas appear not
to give much weight to these possible beneficial uses of the
technology.

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