Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's furious reaction to foreign criticism of his handling of Amazon fires reflects the sacred place the vast region occupies in the minds of Brazil's military, for whom the rainforest is almost a raison d'etre.
While many around the world view the Amazon as a vital defense against climate change, within Brazil's military the sparsely developed region represents a sprawling, resource-rich asset that they believe foreign entities are desperate to control.
That helps explain why Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain, reacted with fury to the world's condemnation of his handling of the fires and initially slapped down many of its offers of help.