September 09, 2005
The Geopolitics of the Bayou
I was directed to a great article on Stratfor today about the origins and necessity of New Orleans, and why it's located where it is:
During the Cold War, a macabre topic of discussion among bored graduate students who studied such things was this: If the Soviets could destroy one city with a large nuclear device, which would it be? The usual answers were Washington or New York. For me, the answer was simple: New Orleans. If the Mississippi River was shut to traffic, then the foundations of the economy would be shattered. The industrial minerals needed in the factories wouldn't come in, and the agricultural wealth wouldn't flow out. Alternative routes really weren't available. The Germans knew it too: A U-boat campaign occurred near the mouth of the Mississippi during World War II. Both the Germans and Stratfor have stood with Andy Jackson: New Orleans was the prize.
Read the whole thing - it's excellent.
Posted by ben at September 9, 2005 11:01 AM
Comments
Damm. That is a treasure.
Posted by: FarMcKon at September 9, 2005 09:08 PM
I hate it when the most notorious architect of genocide in American history gets given my preffered varient of our shared first name. Call him Andrew, people, fucker was NOT cute.
Not like me :)
Posted by: Andy at September 13, 2005 12:46 PM