In his latest column for RealClearWorld, American Resources principal Daniel McGroarty takes exception to the Department of Defense’s assessment of the role of rare earths in the defense supply chain. In its (long-overdue) report on the issue, the agency shrugged off concerns, concluding that there is no reason to be worried about potential vulnerabilities due to our reliance on foreign – and to a disproportionately high degree Chinese – rare earth elements imports.

This position is clearly at odds with the assessments of policy experts on the outside – but even defense analysts within the government, such as CRS defense specialist Valerie Bailey Grasso, find issue with DoD’s dismissal of a matter that could well threaten our national security and economic wellbeing.

The failure of U.S. government to speak with one voice on the issue of critical minerals and metals – a prerequisite to formulating a coherent mineral strategy that will allow us to remain competitive and allow our military to effectively do its job – will also be the topic of a forthcoming American Resources report. The study will be the first of a series of Quarterly Reports on a variety of issues relating to critical and strategic minerals, and will serve to kick off an American Resources-hosted policy conference to be held in Washington, DC on June 6, 2012.

Stay tuned for more information on both the report and the conference.