It seems clear for the U.S. that the only purpose for war is war - and profits for the firepower industry.
In no war in my lifetime has there ever been a meaningful political objective being sought - beyond vague empty slogans. Consider today's and tomorrow's fiascos. What are the specific strategic benefits of supporting Ukraine when the current path could lead to nuclear war? Would the U.S. destroy Taiwan in order to save it from China?
Or more directly, would the US destroy the US to save Taiwan? America would not back down over Cuba and by sheer luck (that Soviet officer who stopped the torpedo launch) survived doing so. China would not back down over Taiwan.
Clif, We already know the answer. The slow destruction of the U.S. is already underway and has been, in slow motion - we are one large sacrifice zone (except for certain zip codes). The country's infrastructure is in dire need of repair; urban public schools are closing; drug abuse has soared with increasing desperation, hopelessness and lack of middle class jobs; homeless vets and others - made worse by millions of aliens - sleep wherever. The owners know, and don't care. So yep, they'd destroy the U.S. to 'save' Taiwan. Just another cost of increased profits.
This is all nice and even maybe inspirational for some. But it lacks one important point. There is nothing that war was an essential aspect of how the USA evolved. Aggressiveness and violence is an essential ingredient of what it means to be an American. It’s taught from Kindergarten to university. Violence has and still is praised by most churches. We have Memorial day, Veterans Day, but you never have a Peace day. As a a pacifist I always felt isolated even in the church I once belonged to. Patriotism is always associated with war!
Yes, that's tragically true. "Peace" has almost disappeared from our national discourse. It's war-war-war, weapons-weapons-weapons. Which we say we wage and build in the interests of peace!
The last time I remember where "peace" was even alluded to by a president was Bush the First and Making America "A kinder gentler nation" then proceeding to war with Iraq and Afghanistan and Iraq.....
in our presbyterian 'church-of war-propaganda' in skaneateles, NY during the 1940s~1950s which my oh-so-xian war-propagandized parents forced me to attend every single sunday, we had to sing "ONWARD XIAN 'SO-OH-UL-DIER-ERS', MARCHING OFF TO WAR, W/ THE CROSS OF JESUS, GOING ON BEFORE...etc etc". what a demonic, despicable hymn we children were compelled to memorize and sing!
Look no further than movies and TV to see that guns are a national fetish and in those movies and TV shows, the guns are used to the max and the more powerful and exotic they are, the better.
Don't forget that it's quite possible for a person to be a belligerent gun owner and at the same time think of him or herself as a Christian. The KKK was composed of many who considered themselves both Christian and upstanding members of their communities.
I think Woodrow Wilson is an outstanding example of what you are talking about. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (originally THE CLANSMAN) was hosted by Wilson in the White House.
Read AMERICAN MIDNIGHT - The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis, (2022) by Adam Hochschild. I blame Wilson’s politics for the rise and success of Nazism in Germany. The man had no conscience. They won’t teach this in schools or colleges.
As long as Kiev is willing to slaughter its people US will profit making arms not suited to industrial war against a near peer, using a 6000 thousand mile supply chain.
We will see how EU is willing to add its kids to the revenue stream.
In his essay, Tom Engelhardt opens with observations about the endless quality of war everywhere in the world, throughout history. In that regard, the U.S. is not unique, not different from ancient Rome, for instance. This country is merely the latest, arguably largest, iteration.
Viewed against that backdrop, efforts to call a halt to this ceaseless conflict look even more futile. Not a reason to stop trying, however.
Well it won't happen. There are no major media outlets that are anti-war. The only main party politicians who are anti-war are on the Republican side, the minority party in D.C. And even there it's a minority of a minority. Antiwar politicians like M.T. Greene are denounced as far-right wackos or ignored (e.g. Rand Paul). Check out a recent vote on a Greene amendment cutting $450 million from "NATO infrastructure" spending: https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2024/roll239.xml. All the Dems voted "no". My Congressman (Brecheen) voted "aye". How did yours do? Are you going to vote for him/her again?
I'm not antiwar. And you know who put me over the edge in being able to say that? Scott Ritter. After Ritter was excluded from the Rage Against the War Machine rally (by liberal adjacent jackasses), he spoke at a CPI event. And I just heard a big part of this speech and it was do powerful. He said he's not antiwar because he wants justice for eastern Ukrainians/ethnic Russians.
We must remember that eastern Ukrainians were bombed by their own government. For 8 years Kiev bombed them. How do you stop evil actions like that without war?
And then, look at Palestinians. They have the right, under international law, to fight their occupiers (Israelis).
If I espouse anti-war ideals, I am telling all those motherless kids in the Donbass, or kid-less mothers of the Donbass, or Palestinians locked up in Gaza, that they need to just suffer forever.
If diplomacy fails, if protests fail, if bullets are flying at your face, what do you do, as a human being with a soul?
Note, i fully agree the US war MACHINE must be stopped. But I am no longer antiwar. I will defend any people or country that is bombed by the Western imperialists. I will defend those people's right to life.
I'm antiwar but not anti-resistance. Occasionally, rarely, wars must be fought. An entity like Nazi Germany had to be stopped, and only through war was that possible.
Does the entity of the United States with its Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex and it Secrecy-Security-Surveillance-Censorship-Propaganda-protoPolice State Panopticon need to stopped?
And if so, is there any way of doing that Other than by War?
Hitler was a war monger who started wars with relish, never doubting that Germany would prevail. Who would not oppose that?
But when Germany was utterly destroyed, Hitler (I think in a Trumpian way) blamed the German people for letting him down. Incredible - all of his fanatical following, all those who idolized and died for him, millions of people, and the man felt HE was the victim!
Before remembering that Eastern Ukrainians were bombed by "their own government," remember two things:
1. That government was installed by a coup that overthrew a democratically-elected government, and was completely bought and paid for, directed, and controlled by the American government led by Obama.
2. Those 14,000 dead Eastern Ukrainians were killed by bombs, bullets, shells, etc made in America and provided free-of-charge to that government by the American government under first Obama, then Trump, and now Biden.
The entire history of the US, especially since the beginning of the 20th century, is steeped in war. We are the most belligerent country in the world, by far. Kennedy was the first president to really try and shift the course of the US away from militarism, and it cost him his life. Now, nobody in government talks about reducing military spending, they all talk about increasing it. Long before Ike warned the nation of the war machine, a guy named George Washington made a strong case for not having a standing army because it would entice the government to use it in "foreign entanglements". So, if we were actually following what the "founding fathers" envisioned, it would be the opposite of what we have now.
Wicker has nothing to say about nuclear war, which would be rapidly reached if we were to war against China.
Another thought on this topic of endless war, isn't it interesting how Netanyahu, the head of a tiny country with a population about that of the greater NYC area, can decide that his war can continue until the end of the year? That tells you that he has no worries about funding or supplies or weaponry and that is because America is supplying it all without limit. Our tiny "ally" sees us as enabling it to conduct endless war against a helpless people. I could not be more ashamed to be an American right now.
I have an optimistic spirit and am hoping that one day War will become obsolete on our planet. May it be for the sake of our children's, children's, children... On this the 56th. yr. anniversary today of the murder of RFK when I was only 13, but I already knew the impact that we're still feeling & loss from losing such a man that could have changed the world. I've never forgotten the outpouring of humanity during the Funeral Train-- Why is there always someone against positive change in the world? Then there was the rest of that terrible year. If not for Apollo 8 in Dec. that whole yr. would've been a sinking ship. We need more men of courage & vision like him now to unite mankind and not divide.
Well, here’s certainly a first step toward one way to possibly kick-jump start some sort of real and effective Anti-War Movement in this country. But then again, maybe not. That would ultimately depend almost entirely upon who gets Exemptions/Deferments/etc [ala Clinton, Bush II, Cheney, Trump, and Biden just in the White House] and how they qualify for it... :
CONGRESS IS WEIGHING AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION FOR WARTIME DRAFT by Patty Nieberg / Task & Purpose 29 May 24
*** Registration for Selective Service is already mandatory but a proposed law would automatically sign up men between 18 and 25 years old for national draft rolls. ***
American men ages 18 to 25 would be automatically signed up for the draft if a measure making its way through Congress becomes law.
The proposal by Rep. Chrissy Houlahan would mean that men would be automatically registered for the draft when they turn 18. Under current federal law, all American male citizens and green card holders 18 to 25 years old must register with the Selective Service, but the requirement to do so falls on individuals. Those roles would be the basis of a military draft if Congress or the President decided to implement one, which Houlahan’s proposed measure does not address.
Women would continue to be exempt from Selective Service registration under the proposal submitted as an amendment to the national defense policy bill for fiscal year 2025.
During debate on her amendment last week, Houlahan argued that the measure would allow Congress to spend more money on “readiness and towards mobilization” instead of “education and advertising campaigns driven to register people.”
The absence of a draft is no small part of the ability to wage endless war(s). For most Americans endless war does not come home except as income and as with all business the bulk of the income goes to the top. I think it would be interesting to divide the amount of profit coming from the Gaza slaughter by the 35,000 (and counting) dead plus the Ukrainian dead to see how much is being made per destroyed human life.
An even bigger part of the ability to wage endless wars is the magic of Deficit Spending.
If Everybody's taxes ~ including corporations' ~ were raised so that there would be NO deficit spending for America's Wars by Credit card, that would change things considerably; just like bringing back a Draft would.
The American People have had neither Blood nor Treasure in any War America has started [and ultimately lost every one] since Vietnam. And until they do, the Wars will continue to be perpetrated and perpetuated. And America will continue to lose them.
It seems clear for the U.S. that the only purpose for war is war - and profits for the firepower industry.
In no war in my lifetime has there ever been a meaningful political objective being sought - beyond vague empty slogans. Consider today's and tomorrow's fiascos. What are the specific strategic benefits of supporting Ukraine when the current path could lead to nuclear war? Would the U.S. destroy Taiwan in order to save it from China?
We are ruled by the criminally insane.
Or more directly, would the US destroy the US to save Taiwan? America would not back down over Cuba and by sheer luck (that Soviet officer who stopped the torpedo launch) survived doing so. China would not back down over Taiwan.
Clif, We already know the answer. The slow destruction of the U.S. is already underway and has been, in slow motion - we are one large sacrifice zone (except for certain zip codes). The country's infrastructure is in dire need of repair; urban public schools are closing; drug abuse has soared with increasing desperation, hopelessness and lack of middle class jobs; homeless vets and others - made worse by millions of aliens - sleep wherever. The owners know, and don't care. So yep, they'd destroy the U.S. to 'save' Taiwan. Just another cost of increased profits.
And that officer's name was Vasili Arkhipov.
This is all nice and even maybe inspirational for some. But it lacks one important point. There is nothing that war was an essential aspect of how the USA evolved. Aggressiveness and violence is an essential ingredient of what it means to be an American. It’s taught from Kindergarten to university. Violence has and still is praised by most churches. We have Memorial day, Veterans Day, but you never have a Peace day. As a a pacifist I always felt isolated even in the church I once belonged to. Patriotism is always associated with war!
Yes, that's tragically true. "Peace" has almost disappeared from our national discourse. It's war-war-war, weapons-weapons-weapons. Which we say we wage and build in the interests of peace!
And diplomacy is used solely to score a win or gain an advantage, never to put a stop to the carnage in itself.
The last time I remember where "peace" was even alluded to by a president was Bush the First and Making America "A kinder gentler nation" then proceeding to war with Iraq and Afghanistan and Iraq.....
Who knew the "thousand points of light" were missiles plumes and tracer bullets?
in our presbyterian 'church-of war-propaganda' in skaneateles, NY during the 1940s~1950s which my oh-so-xian war-propagandized parents forced me to attend every single sunday, we had to sing "ONWARD XIAN 'SO-OH-UL-DIER-ERS', MARCHING OFF TO WAR, W/ THE CROSS OF JESUS, GOING ON BEFORE...etc etc". what a demonic, despicable hymn we children were compelled to memorize and sing!
How well I remember that “glorious” hymn.
Look no further than movies and TV to see that guns are a national fetish and in those movies and TV shows, the guns are used to the max and the more powerful and exotic they are, the better.
Don't forget that it's quite possible for a person to be a belligerent gun owner and at the same time think of him or herself as a Christian. The KKK was composed of many who considered themselves both Christian and upstanding members of their communities.
I think Woodrow Wilson is an outstanding example of what you are talking about. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (originally THE CLANSMAN) was hosted by Wilson in the White House.
I should read a biography of Wilson. He was supposedly an idealist, but at the same time oversaw truly awful repressive measures during WW1.
Read AMERICAN MIDNIGHT - The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis, (2022) by Adam Hochschild. I blame Wilson’s politics for the rise and success of Nazism in Germany. The man had no conscience. They won’t teach this in schools or colleges.
Endless wars makes for endless profits for the empire's war machine
As long as Kiev is willing to slaughter its people US will profit making arms not suited to industrial war against a near peer, using a 6000 thousand mile supply chain.
We will see how EU is willing to add its kids to the revenue stream.
The first signs that an imperium is in decline are when it goes blind and deaf;
it can neither see others for who and what they are, nor hear what they have to say.
In his essay, Tom Engelhardt opens with observations about the endless quality of war everywhere in the world, throughout history. In that regard, the U.S. is not unique, not different from ancient Rome, for instance. This country is merely the latest, arguably largest, iteration.
Viewed against that backdrop, efforts to call a halt to this ceaseless conflict look even more futile. Not a reason to stop trying, however.
Well it won't happen. There are no major media outlets that are anti-war. The only main party politicians who are anti-war are on the Republican side, the minority party in D.C. And even there it's a minority of a minority. Antiwar politicians like M.T. Greene are denounced as far-right wackos or ignored (e.g. Rand Paul). Check out a recent vote on a Greene amendment cutting $450 million from "NATO infrastructure" spending: https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2024/roll239.xml. All the Dems voted "no". My Congressman (Brecheen) voted "aye". How did yours do? Are you going to vote for him/her again?
I'm not antiwar. And you know who put me over the edge in being able to say that? Scott Ritter. After Ritter was excluded from the Rage Against the War Machine rally (by liberal adjacent jackasses), he spoke at a CPI event. And I just heard a big part of this speech and it was do powerful. He said he's not antiwar because he wants justice for eastern Ukrainians/ethnic Russians.
We must remember that eastern Ukrainians were bombed by their own government. For 8 years Kiev bombed them. How do you stop evil actions like that without war?
And then, look at Palestinians. They have the right, under international law, to fight their occupiers (Israelis).
If I espouse anti-war ideals, I am telling all those motherless kids in the Donbass, or kid-less mothers of the Donbass, or Palestinians locked up in Gaza, that they need to just suffer forever.
If diplomacy fails, if protests fail, if bullets are flying at your face, what do you do, as a human being with a soul?
Note, i fully agree the US war MACHINE must be stopped. But I am no longer antiwar. I will defend any people or country that is bombed by the Western imperialists. I will defend those people's right to life.
I'm antiwar but not anti-resistance. Occasionally, rarely, wars must be fought. An entity like Nazi Germany had to be stopped, and only through war was that possible.
Does the entity of the United States with its Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex and it Secrecy-Security-Surveillance-Censorship-Propaganda-protoPolice State Panopticon need to stopped?
And if so, is there any way of doing that Other than by War?
Hitler was a war monger who started wars with relish, never doubting that Germany would prevail. Who would not oppose that?
But when Germany was utterly destroyed, Hitler (I think in a Trumpian way) blamed the German people for letting him down. Incredible - all of his fanatical following, all those who idolized and died for him, millions of people, and the man felt HE was the victim!
Before remembering that Eastern Ukrainians were bombed by "their own government," remember two things:
1. That government was installed by a coup that overthrew a democratically-elected government, and was completely bought and paid for, directed, and controlled by the American government led by Obama.
2. Those 14,000 dead Eastern Ukrainians were killed by bombs, bullets, shells, etc made in America and provided free-of-charge to that government by the American government under first Obama, then Trump, and now Biden.
Yup, so they were bombed by their own gov that is financed by our tax dollars. Makes me sick
Fear sells war. Fear sells votes. Fear sells hatred of one another. The permanent state needs us to live in fear.
The entire history of the US, especially since the beginning of the 20th century, is steeped in war. We are the most belligerent country in the world, by far. Kennedy was the first president to really try and shift the course of the US away from militarism, and it cost him his life. Now, nobody in government talks about reducing military spending, they all talk about increasing it. Long before Ike warned the nation of the war machine, a guy named George Washington made a strong case for not having a standing army because it would entice the government to use it in "foreign entanglements". So, if we were actually following what the "founding fathers" envisioned, it would be the opposite of what we have now.
Wicker has nothing to say about nuclear war, which would be rapidly reached if we were to war against China.
Another thought on this topic of endless war, isn't it interesting how Netanyahu, the head of a tiny country with a population about that of the greater NYC area, can decide that his war can continue until the end of the year? That tells you that he has no worries about funding or supplies or weaponry and that is because America is supplying it all without limit. Our tiny "ally" sees us as enabling it to conduct endless war against a helpless people. I could not be more ashamed to be an American right now.
I have an optimistic spirit and am hoping that one day War will become obsolete on our planet. May it be for the sake of our children's, children's, children... On this the 56th. yr. anniversary today of the murder of RFK when I was only 13, but I already knew the impact that we're still feeling & loss from losing such a man that could have changed the world. I've never forgotten the outpouring of humanity during the Funeral Train-- Why is there always someone against positive change in the world? Then there was the rest of that terrible year. If not for Apollo 8 in Dec. that whole yr. would've been a sinking ship. We need more men of courage & vision like him now to unite mankind and not divide.
Well, here’s certainly a first step toward one way to possibly kick-jump start some sort of real and effective Anti-War Movement in this country. But then again, maybe not. That would ultimately depend almost entirely upon who gets Exemptions/Deferments/etc [ala Clinton, Bush II, Cheney, Trump, and Biden just in the White House] and how they qualify for it... :
CONGRESS IS WEIGHING AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION FOR WARTIME DRAFT by Patty Nieberg / Task & Purpose 29 May 24
*** Registration for Selective Service is already mandatory but a proposed law would automatically sign up men between 18 and 25 years old for national draft rolls. ***
American men ages 18 to 25 would be automatically signed up for the draft if a measure making its way through Congress becomes law.
The proposal by Rep. Chrissy Houlahan would mean that men would be automatically registered for the draft when they turn 18. Under current federal law, all American male citizens and green card holders 18 to 25 years old must register with the Selective Service, but the requirement to do so falls on individuals. Those roles would be the basis of a military draft if Congress or the President decided to implement one, which Houlahan’s proposed measure does not address.
Women would continue to be exempt from Selective Service registration under the proposal submitted as an amendment to the national defense policy bill for fiscal year 2025.
During debate on her amendment last week, Houlahan argued that the measure would allow Congress to spend more money on “readiness and towards mobilization” instead of “education and advertising campaigns driven to register people.”
Full article at https://taskandpurpose.com/news/congress-weighing-automatic-registration-for-wartime-draft/NEWS .
The absence of a draft is no small part of the ability to wage endless war(s). For most Americans endless war does not come home except as income and as with all business the bulk of the income goes to the top. I think it would be interesting to divide the amount of profit coming from the Gaza slaughter by the 35,000 (and counting) dead plus the Ukrainian dead to see how much is being made per destroyed human life.
An even bigger part of the ability to wage endless wars is the magic of Deficit Spending.
If Everybody's taxes ~ including corporations' ~ were raised so that there would be NO deficit spending for America's Wars by Credit card, that would change things considerably; just like bringing back a Draft would.
The American People have had neither Blood nor Treasure in any War America has started [and ultimately lost every one] since Vietnam. And until they do, the Wars will continue to be perpetrated and perpetuated. And America will continue to lose them.