Stephan: We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars of your money and mine fighting wars, that have cost tens of thousands of lives, and untold misery and social violence. For what? This article raises some of what I think are the relevant questions and suggests some answers. I will suggest one more answer that is not mentioned. When we made the military an all-volunteer institution, I can tell you from personal experience, we never for a moment considered that the military would go from an experience most American families would have one way or another, into something that only involves about 1% of Americans, even as it has become unspeakably profitable for the military-industrial complex about which Dwight Eisenhower warned us. So few Americans are involved with the military today that these failed wars are hardly a factor in anyone's lives. That is how politicians are able to get away with them.
A U.S. soldier fires an anti-tank rocket during a live-fire exercise in Zabul province, Afghanistan, in July 2010. Credit: U.S. Army/flickr
Americans may already be lying themselves out of what little remains of their democracy.
The big lie uniting and motivating today’s Republicans is, of course, that Donald Trump, not Joe Biden, won the 2020 presidential election. Other big lies in our recent past include the notion that climate change is nothing but a Chinese hoax, that Russia was responsible for Hillary Clinton’s electoral defeat in 2016, and that the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was necessary because that country’s leader, Saddam Hussein, had something to do with the 9/11 attacks (he didn’t!) and possessed weapons of mass destruction that could be used against the United States, a “slam dunk” truth, according to then-CIA Director George Tenet (it wasn’t!).
Americans have become remarkably tolerant of comfortable lies, generally preferring them to uncomfortable truths.
Those and other lies, large and small, along with systemic corruption in Washington are precisely why so many Americans have been driven to despair. Small […]
Recently we had weekend cookouts celebrating/honoring Memorial Day. A day of flag waving and praise for all the fallen who have protected our freedoms or for most a day to drink beer and eat some sort of roasted animal flesh.
For the last twenty years or so I have been discouraged and saddened by Memorial Day as it reminds me of all the wars, mostly undeclared therefore unconstitutional, that have frequently been started to expand and maintain the Great American Empire. As the article notes we have the most expensive military establishment in the world in the world and we use it more often in more places than any other nation. Why is that so? Why is any mention that so many men and women past and present gave their lives for the “empire” considered beyond the pale, not worthy of a national conversation?
Republicans and Democrats by large majorities accept that the US can do as it will in the world so long as we are fighting “the bad guys” while bringing freedom and democracy to the oppressed. Meanwhile we spend uncounted billions, the pentagon has never had a full audit, to buy the most expensive hardware that can be created by the merchants of death.
I pray in some not too distant future what ever remains of the US of A will go before the world to say we are sorry, we lost our way, we wasted untold treasure, we laid waste to many places that had not attacked us, we blamed you for causing the necessity of war. All indications are we are facing the fate of all past empires hopefully it will end less violently. I did my part to spread freedom and democracy and I am sorry that I didn’t have the awareness or personal strength of character to say no.
Will
on Monday, June 21, 2021 at 4:10 pm
Tonight on PBS News I watched another piece on the twenty year Afghan war that we are finally withdrawing from after having killed uncountable human beings who in turn fought and killed each other in a madness that is characteristic of war zones. Then I decided to look up the number killed; American 2372, 31 Allies “Coalition of the Willing” 1146 plus approx. 20K+ wounded who will require lifelong support. Then there were 1700+ contractors killed and then how many of them injured. The more I looked into just the Afghan war the more appalling the whole mess is and still our generals say after spending maybe $2trillion our enemies have not been defeated.
Afghanistan had nothing to do with 9/11 except bin laden had a training camp and we could have paid off everyone in the whole country for a few billion never losing one life. Why are humans so ready to spend life and treasure for war that they would never spend for peace? Arrogance of empire at least when the Soviets left their Afghan government lasted about two years ours is falling before we can get out. Pictures of Saigon come to mind.
Will
on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at 5:30 am
Just read another bit about the huge, multi-billion dollar junk and trash we are leaving for the Afghans to clean up. Most equipment is being left behind and everything from computers to trucks are/have been destroyed. Waste is something we have been exceptionally skilled at creating and after twenty years there are huge expensive piles all over. Hope they appreciate all that freedom and democracy.
Rev. Dean
on Monday, June 21, 2021 at 7:53 pm
Noam Chomsky says that America (USA) is the biggest terroristic threat to the world, and I agree with him.
Recently we had weekend cookouts celebrating/honoring Memorial Day. A day of flag waving and praise for all the fallen who have protected our freedoms or for most a day to drink beer and eat some sort of roasted animal flesh.
For the last twenty years or so I have been discouraged and saddened by Memorial Day as it reminds me of all the wars, mostly undeclared therefore unconstitutional, that have frequently been started to expand and maintain the Great American Empire. As the article notes we have the most expensive military establishment in the world in the world and we use it more often in more places than any other nation. Why is that so? Why is any mention that so many men and women past and present gave their lives for the “empire” considered beyond the pale, not worthy of a national conversation?
Republicans and Democrats by large majorities accept that the US can do as it will in the world so long as we are fighting “the bad guys” while bringing freedom and democracy to the oppressed. Meanwhile we spend uncounted billions, the pentagon has never had a full audit, to buy the most expensive hardware that can be created by the merchants of death.
I pray in some not too distant future what ever remains of the US of A will go before the world to say we are sorry, we lost our way, we wasted untold treasure, we laid waste to many places that had not attacked us, we blamed you for causing the necessity of war. All indications are we are facing the fate of all past empires hopefully it will end less violently. I did my part to spread freedom and democracy and I am sorry that I didn’t have the awareness or personal strength of character to say no.
Tonight on PBS News I watched another piece on the twenty year Afghan war that we are finally withdrawing from after having killed uncountable human beings who in turn fought and killed each other in a madness that is characteristic of war zones. Then I decided to look up the number killed; American 2372, 31 Allies “Coalition of the Willing” 1146 plus approx. 20K+ wounded who will require lifelong support. Then there were 1700+ contractors killed and then how many of them injured. The more I looked into just the Afghan war the more appalling the whole mess is and still our generals say after spending maybe $2trillion our enemies have not been defeated.
Afghanistan had nothing to do with 9/11 except bin laden had a training camp and we could have paid off everyone in the whole country for a few billion never losing one life. Why are humans so ready to spend life and treasure for war that they would never spend for peace? Arrogance of empire at least when the Soviets left their Afghan government lasted about two years ours is falling before we can get out. Pictures of Saigon come to mind.
Just read another bit about the huge, multi-billion dollar junk and trash we are leaving for the Afghans to clean up. Most equipment is being left behind and everything from computers to trucks are/have been destroyed. Waste is something we have been exceptionally skilled at creating and after twenty years there are huge expensive piles all over. Hope they appreciate all that freedom and democracy.
Noam Chomsky says that America (USA) is the biggest terroristic threat to the world, and I agree with him.