Military Brass Tells Obama, Move Forward On Drilling, Never ‘Retreat’

The Daily Caller | June 16, 2016 | Chris White

Several former top military officials are pushing the Obama administration to push forward on oil and gas drilling in the American Arctic, while green activists and climate scientists express concern about the region’s beluga whales.

Former Defense Secretary and former Republican Sen. William Cohen argues that halting the plans to drill would decimate the country’s “ability to protect our interests and to promote cooperation in the region.”

Cohen was among 16 foreign policy specialists and military men who signed a letter to Obama suggesting that drilling was a crucial component to a sober foreign policy.

“Excluding the Arctic from the [leasing] program would signal retreat, needlessly reducing U.S. flexibility for promoting our national interests and our ability to ensure international cooperation, including ensuring best practices in Arctic drilling, in this sensitive and increasingly strategic region,” the specialists wrote in the letter Thursday.

The letter was signed by former Supreme Allied Commander General Robert E. Kramek, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff James A. “Sandy” Winnefeld Jr., as well as by former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security James M. Loy.

Read the full story here.