Every summer the U.S. government makes war on America's wildlands. Under the command of land management agencies such as the Forest Service, tens of thousands of young people are sent into the forests and rangelands of the West to fight wildfires. Unlike other military adventures, however, there are few voices of dissent emanating from peace activists, religious leaders, concerned taxpayers, frightened parents. Indeed, firefighting enjoys widespread popularity with the public; yet, in this modern crusade to conquer one of the most powerful forces of Nature, society has embarked on a war it cannot hope to win. Indeed, each battle offers only a temporary victory over an "enemy" which returns year and year with ever more power and fury.
Fomenting this futile battle are powerful political and economic interests with vested stakes in the perpetuation of warfare. A new "fire-dependent" class of government bureaucrats and private corporations accumulate enormous power and profits from firefighting. Accordingly, the Forest Service is filling an important new niche in the post-cold war Military-Industrial Complex. Surplus military equipment and superfluous military personnel are increasingly being dispatched to wildfires, all at the taxpayer's till. Fully supporting the firefighting warlords and profiteers is a corporate press feeds the public a steady diet of "pyrophobic" propaganda to instill fear and hatred of forest fires.
Não por acaso, o governo nomeou um militar para comandar Autoridade Nacional para os Fogos Florestais.
