Critical Minerals, Colonial Mentality
📰 THE STORY: The Financial Times reports that the US Department of Defense is set to invest $1.6 billion into a rare earths group, part of a broader strategy to decrease reliance on China for critical minerals essential for advanced technologies and defense systems. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: This isn't just about 'supply chain security'; it's a direct callback to the
colonial era where Western powers carved up the global south for raw materials. From the 10 million Congolese lives lost under Belgian King Leopold II's rubber regime (1885-1908) to the 2019 lithium coup in Bolivia against Evo Morales, facilitated by the US and OAS, accessing resources has consistently trumped national sovereignty and human rights. The US has a long history of backing coups and
installing puppet regimes to ensure its access to resources, often through violence or economic strangulation. Double Standard: When China invests in resource projects in Africa or Latin America, Western media frames it as 'debt trap diplomacy' or 'neo-colonialism.' Yet, when the US Department of Defense directly funds a raw materials company to secure minerals for its military and tech sector,
it's lauded as 'shoring up key minerals' and 'national security.' The underlying objective – control over resources – is identical, but the narrative shifts based on the actor. Follow the Money: The $1.6 billion investment directly subsidizes a private rare earths group, boosting its value and securing profits for its shareholders. This is taxpayer money funneling into corporate hands, all