Is the Economic Crisis a Security Threat

Could the deepening global recession boost the flagging efforts of Osama bin Laden to challenge the established global order? Probably not. But the signs are there that, as President Barack Obama’s intelligence chief Admiral Dennis Blair warned last week, the economic crisis may be the source of the primary threat to global security right now. Security experts note that the economic downturn is already creating social unrest and political instability in some strategic hot spots around the world, and they warn that a prolonged slump could undermine U.S. and Western security interests.
Related
Stories

Blair, addressing the Senate Intelligence Committee on Feb. 12, prioritized the global recession as America’s “primary near-term security concern” and warned that the threat level would increase as the slump endures. “The longer it takes for the recovery to begin, the greater the likelihood of serious damage to U.S. strategic interests,” Blair warned, emphasizing the danger of political instability in countries allied with Washington. “Economic crises increase the risk of regime-threatening instability if they persist over a one-to-two-year period.” (See pictures of the global food crisis.)

Part of the strategic challenge posed by the downturn lies in the realm of the economy itself. Emerging powers such as China or India could take the opportunity presented by U.S. economic weakness to extend their own influence in regions traditionally dominated by the U.S. China, in particular, has already established itself as a major player in Latin America and Africa, and it is investing heavily in extractive industries across the globe right now, procuring energy supplies — most recently in new oil deals inked with Russia, Venezuela and Brazil — and other natural resources for its industrial economy.

Read Full Article – TIME.