KAOS Radio Austin

During World War II the development of the atomic bomb via the Manhattan Project resulted in a close relationship between the military and the scientific community. After the war a group of Air Force generals came up with the idea of RAND (Research and Development), a think tank that would continue to foster this relationship. It soon became America's premier think tank. It was RAND that promoted the idea that the US should become the world "hegemon" and that stockpiles of hugely expensive weapons was necessary to achieve that end. Longtime residents of Austin will remember the water tower out at the old Air Force base that said "World Domination for America." This is an example of RAND thinking. Of course, the arms manufacturers loved these guys; they got behind the project and the "military industrial complex" was born.

During the cold war they were involved with the notorious Team B, which grossly overestimated the strength of the Soviet Union. Their conclusions gave politicians like Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney the ability to manipulate the public into spending huge amounts of money on defense. When Nixon and Kissinger attempted "detente" (peace) with the USSR, Rand and their supporters, Rumsfeld and Cheny, knew that the gravy train would be stopped; so they stepped up the propaganda. They claimed that the Russians had horrible weapons that the president and the CIA didn't know about. This effectively killed detente. Billions of dollars later, it came out that it was all untrue, but the money was already spent.

During the Vietnam War, it was RAND that grossly underestimated the power of the guerilla movement and overestimated the power of the military. Part of this is the so-called "scientific and mathematical" nature of their logic. They believe in "rational choice theory," which presumes that humans are always rational and will choose self-interest over any other motive. Are you laughing? No wonder they can't deal with popular rebel movements.

One of their most damaging legacies has been the installment of military dictatorships in third world countries. They believed that "military modernization" in underdeveloped countries was good and that we could best work with foreign governments headed by military officers. The result was military dictatorships all over East Asia, South America and Africa. Much of the resentment the world feels toward the US can be traced back to the backing of these dictatorships.

RAND has appeared in popular culture as the inspiration for "Dr. Strangelove" and "A Beautiful Mind"

Dr. Strangelove: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0057012/
A Beautiful Mind: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0268978/

If you want to find out more about RAND and Team B here are some links:

Team B links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_B#Members http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1207-26.htm

RAND: http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=12760