First, there was Viet Nam, then Iraq and Afghanistan, then inadequate support for Ukraine, and over support of Israel carrying out what the U.N. now openly calls a genocide. In each case the United States chose to carry out either utterly wrong or grossly inferior geopolitical policies that have resulted in the death of millions and have kept America at war unceasingly. Why is this happening? I think there are two reasons, and I was involved with the best intentions in the world, creating one of them. The first is that for fifty years the U.S. economy has been taken over by the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower, a Republican, warned us in urgent terms about. We spend more on the military than all the European countries combined. War is very profitable particularly if you don’t have American lives at risk. And that is the second reason. Because we eliminated the draft and created an all-volunteer armed forces these endless wars have very little impact on American society, except to provide a lot of jobs in this country. As a result, and I can tell you this with authority no one saw this coming, active-duty service members now comprise less than 1% of all U.S. adults. So the corporations get to have their profitable wars, but very few Americans have to get involved and be at risk.
People mourn victims of an Israeli attack in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on November 14, 2024. Credit: Ashraf Amra / Anadolu / Getty
“Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation, and serious injury, using starvation as a method of war, and inflicting collective punishment on the Palestinian population.”
Less than 48 hours after the Biden administration said it does not believe Israel is unlawfully obstructing humanitarian assistance in Gaza, a United Nations special committee issued a report Thursday arguing that the Israeli military’s actions in the Palestinian enclave bear “the characteristics of genocide.”
“Since the beginning of the war, Israeli officials have publicly supported policies that strip Palestinians of the very necessities required to sustain life—food, water, and fuel,” said the U.N. committee. “These statements, along with the systematic and unlawful interference of humanitarian aid, make clear Israel’s intent to instrumentalize lifesaving supplies for political and military gains.”
“Through its siege over Gaza, obstruction of humanitarian aid, alongside targeted attacks and killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated U.N. appeals, binding orders from the International Court […]
Don’t understand even with the level of control AIPAC and associated organizations have how this brutality is not only supported but praised as self defense. No one in power or even here stand up for fundamental principles of humanity and morality. I have listened to many on both sides of this debate and I still come down to the belief that no justification can be given for the unjustifiable. For supporters scorched earth, complete eradication is the only solution.
Don’t understand even with the level of control AIPAC and associated organizations have how this brutality is not only supported but praised as self defense. No one in power or even here stand up for fundamental principles of humanity and morality. I have listened to many on both sides of this debate and I still come down to the belief that no justification can be given for the unjustifiable. For supporters scorched earth, complete eradication is the only solution.