A dystopian scenario: brutal anarchy in the world’s megacities, filled with gangs of youth-gone wild, a restive underclass, criminal syndicates, and bands of malicious hackers. The society in the year 2030, dehumanized and as unpleasant as possible.
This scenario is outlined in “Megacities: Urban Future, the Emerging Complexity,” a five-minute video that has been used at the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations University. All that stands between the coming chaos and the good people of Lagos and Dhaka (or maybe even New York City) is the U.S. Army, according to the video, which website The Intercept.com obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.
“Megacities: Urban Future, the Emerging Complexity,” a video created by the Army and used at the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations University.
The video is nothing if not an instant dystopian classic: melancholy music, an ominous voiceover, and cascading images of sprawling slums and urban conflict.
“Megacities are complex systems where people and structures are compressed together in ways that defy both our understanding of city planning and military doctrine,” says a disembodied voice. “These are the future breeding grounds, incubators, and launching pads for adversaries and hybrid threats.”
The video was used as part of an “Advanced Special Operations Combating Terrorism” course offered at JSOU earlier this year, for a lesson on “The Emerging Terrorism Threat.” JSOU is operated by U.S. Special Operations Command, the umbrella organization for America’s most elite troops. JSOU describes itself as geared toward preparing special operations forces “to shape the future strategic environment by providing specialized joint professional military education, developing SOF specific undergraduate and graduate level academic programs and by fostering special operations research.”
Megacities are, by definition, urban areas with a population of 10 million or more, and they have been a recent source of worry and research for the U.S. military. A 2014 Army report, titled “Megacities and the United States Army,” warned that “the Army is currently unprepared. Although the Army has a long history of urban fighting, it has never dealt with an environment so complex and beyond the scope of its resources.” A separate Army study published this year bemoans the fact that the “U.S. Army is incapable of operating within the megacity.”
The Intercept notes
“As the film unfolds, we’re bombarded with an apocalyptic list of ills endemic to this new urban environment: “criminal networks,” “substandard infrastructure,” “religious and ethnic tensions,” “impoverishment, slums,” “open landfills, over-burdened sewers,” and a “growing mass of unemployed.” The list, as long as it is grim, accompanies photos of garbage-choked streets, masked rock throwers, and riot cops battling protesters in the developing world. “Growth will magnify the increasing separation between rich and poor,” the narrator warns as the scene shifts to New York City. Looking down from a high vantage point on Third Avenue, we’re left to ponder if the Army will one day find itself defending the lunchtime crowd dining on $57 “NY Cut Sirloin” steaks at (the plainly visible) Smith and Wollensky.”
Lacking opening and closing credits, the provenance of “Megacities” was initially unclear, with SOCOM claiming the video was produced by JSOU, before indicating it was actually created by the Army. “It was made for an internal military audience to illuminate the challenges of operating in megacity environments,” Army spokesperson William Layer told The Intercept in an email. “The video was privately produced pro-bono in spring of 2014 based on ‘Megacities and the United States Army.’… The producer of the film wishes to remain anonymous.”
Full story in The Intercept.com
For some reason I think the video was produced because somebody and some institutions needed extra funds to meet the challenges of that horrible human societies that go wild as they cannot survive on the neoliberal peanut-wages.
What is interesting is that the film makers use footage from anti-austerity protests in Athens in the first years of the bailout agreements.
Thank Goodness, Athens is not a megacity with just four million residents many of whom have migrated in the last years abroad due to the economic crisis…
PS I think the film-makers watch lots of US TV series like “Anarchy”, “Walking Dead” and others
Of course, the proposed solution would be the continued dominance of the US on the world stage: the “indispensable country”.
Another horror scenario (very real): People in the Pentagon and State Department aiming for a war with Russia which will be fought out in Europe of course, not in Alaska. And if we look at history, a conventional war with Russia cannot be won so there is a big chance that that one will go nuclear. That means Europe will be destroyed by tactical or battleground nuclear weapons (Russia has thousands of those and using them is part of their militrary doctrine) without it necessarily meaning that the US and/or Russia will be destroyed.
The US is Rome and Rome had no problem with throwing its allies or vassal states under the bus if that would profit them.
It can be true, however, KPG. It it not possible that a starved Athens without any hope and with people dying in the streets out of hunger, while working as slaves in the factories of the 4th Reich, goes like that? The brave new world of the 4th Reich, Uncle Sam and their Banksters.
maybe all of greece would qualify as a megacity?
This reminds of Russian and Ukrainian troops with their tanks always on the same roads instead of destroying the roads.
If they can’t control hackers they just have to cut the whole internet, but they are just too stupid to understand this and this is their way to win wars?
In any CIA-manual are instructions to destroy enemies infrastructure for counter-insurgency and world-wide internet is infrastructure, modern armies are not dependent on as they have independent structures to communicate.
Any way, this is the price these lackeys pay and it’s their own fault if they die in this as they still kneel to their masters – the state, money and capitalism and defend these bastards against class rage.
To be corrupted by a house, a car, holidays and good schools for their breed – that will grow up to be mutants in a plastic world because their parents were criminals in the name of “progress” – must be a life full of pride