By: Gary D. Barnett
I wrote this article November 13, 2010, and obviously nothing has changed since to affect an end to aggressive wars for money and power. The political class and its controllers are forever using war to gain wealth and stay in power, and so long as the masses roll over and accept their fate, the carnage will not stop.
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Why are young Americans being maimed and killed every single day in Afghanistan and Iraq? Why is it that tens of thousands (or more) of innocents in the Middle East have been maimed and murdered, and millions have been displaced from their homes and country? Why is it that their infrastructure has been completely destroyed? Is it because both these countries have nuclear and chemical weapons and the capability to use them against us, and have threatened to do so? Is it because the federal government is protecting us from an eminent air or naval attack by these countries? Is it simply due to the false notion that these countries were responsible for the 9/11 attacks? Of course none of these reasons exist, nor are they valid at any level. Neither of these countries, nor for that matter any other Middle Eastern country, has ever attacked, threatened to attack, or even had the capability to attack the United States. The U.S after all, is the most powerful nation on planet earth with the most powerful military force.
These wars then are being waged for other reasons; reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with national security. So why then are U.S. forces there? In my opinion, there are many reasons, but not a single one is moral, constitutional or right. The general reasons are always the same it seems, those reasons being money and power. War of course is all about both money and power, and war is big business exemplified. Just consider a few of the major recipients of military contracts; contracts that result in hundreds of billions of dollars in additional revenue every year for those businesses who are dependent on death for their survival. Some of those include companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Raytheon, United Technologies, and of course the infamous Halliburton and XE Services, formerly Blackwater, and yes, even General Motors. Of course, many oil companies are also on this list. There are of course, hundreds of thousands of U.S. defense contracts awarded or “won” each year. According to this site, over 530,000 defense contracts worth over $362,000,000,000.00 were issued (“won”) in 2009 alone. This list of companies receiving tax money for military contracts is staggering to say the very least. You see, when I said war is big business, I wasn’t kidding. When considering that these current wars have been going on for over ten years, it is obvious that these wars alone create a multi-trillion dollar business!
Now consider all the politicians who represent all the towns, cities, and states across this nation, and one can begin to understand the relationship between war, money, and political power. Then consider all those political contributions made by all the contract companies scattered across America to these same politicians. Are you beginning to get the picture? If you think you are, then think some more. Who finances all these transactions and controls all the money during this process? The big banks do of course, and because of this they are able to expand by leverage these huge sums of money into very questionable investments; investments that garner them billions in profits. These massive profits are obtained at the expense of us all. What about all the foreign companies getting defense contracts? What about all the foreign governments gaining money and protection to participate in these wars of aggression? What about all the oil and oil pipelines, and other natural resources being stolen and controlled by the U.S. due to these unholy wars? Who will reap the monetary benefits of this piracy in the future? Believe me when I tell you: It won’t be you or me!
In addition to the monstrous monetary benefit to government and its agents in business during a time of war, the increase of power over the individual and the destruction of civil liberty expand at an alarming speed. The aggression and occupation against Afghanistan began in 2001, and the additional war of pure aggression and occupation against Iraq began in 2003. Given that most across this country are now celebrating Veteran’s Day because they have been brainwashed into believing that war protects freedom, let’s look at just a few of the things that have not saved, but destroyed our freedom just since these wars began.
In September of 2001, the Office (later Department) of Homeland Security was established. With that came the passage of the most evil USA PATRIOT Act, this atrocity passed even before either of these immoral wars began. This legislation was the beginning of the end of freedom and liberty as we know it. In 2002 the Homeland Security Act was passed. To follow was the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which created the rights destroying and depraved TSA. Also to come of course was sanctioned torture, NSA warrantless spying, wiretapping, and surveillance of American citizens, the heinous Military Commissions Act of 2006, extraordinary rendition, virtual elimination of habeas corpus, CIA secret prisons, and “enhanced” interrogation. Along with this came draconian financial regulation and data basing of all financial transactions. Please keep in mind that these are but a few of the destructive events against freedom that have taken place just since 2001. There have been literally thousands of new laws and regulations passed over the past ten years that have done nothing but harm liberty. Does anyone in this country really believe that these wars of aggression protect or enhance freedom and liberty? Is anyone that gullible and blind? Is there one shred of truth in the notion that the troops warring overseas are fighting for our freedoms? Not only no but hell no!
The ugly truth of the matter is that those troops, whether they realize it or not, are doing nothing but helping to abolish freedom by doing the bidding of the State, and advancing the real goal of government, which is to enhance its power over the citizenry. In the process, the politicians and their partners in crime become rich, while the rest of us become poor. They become more powerful while we become more enslaved. They act like wolves while the dumbed-down citizenry become sheep awaiting the slaughter. What has happened to the once sovereign and free individual?
There is a way to alter this march toward serfdom and the murderous behavior of the state apparatus. I suggest a reversal of roles where the beneficiaries of this aggression and murder are forced to fend for themselves, while the citizen victims of this immoral imperialism refuse to be used as cannon fodder any longer. How would this work?
First, since all modern wars are started by the executive branch of government, the president should be the very first to go to the front line of battle. All in the executive branch of government, including all cabinet members, should accompany him. All members of Congress, those who acquiesced their duty to control and declare constitutional war, should then go marching off behind them. Those in the judiciary should quickly join in since they sanction these atrocities in their corrupt courts. We cannot of course, leave out all the CEOs of those corporations who benefit monetarily from defense contracts, and all the Federal Reserve and major investment bank presidents across the country. From a military standpoint, all who go to actual battle should go in order of rank, officers only, from the top down. This means the first to be in harm’s way should be the generals. This progression should be a good start to end all aggressive and occupational wars.
Why is this so? This is so because these are the cowards among us. They only want to start and benefit from wars; they are not willing to prosecute them. And why should they when they can send the children of others to die for their gain? Why should they put themselves at risk when the parents of the young are willing to sacrifice their own flesh and blood for the gain of their elected “leaders?” These are “leaders” I might add, in name only, because they will always refuse to lead into battle. True cowards you see will never risk their own lives when they can use the lives of others as their cannon fodder. This is the hard truth, and all should be willing to accept it.
Many of these political trimmers will scream at the top of their lungs that they already did their part in the past, but this argument should fall on deaf ears. Only politicians start wars, so politicians should be fully responsible for leading the way into this hell that only they create. Sending others who were never responsible for sanctioning murder abroad into the trenches of death should never be an option. Let’s get back to the personal responsibility that evil and corrupt politician’s talk about from their podium on high. They should lead by example, and if they refuse, they should be forced to do so. This would be the only conscription I would ever agree to enforce. The result of this posture will be an end to all wars, because these cowards will never voluntarily put themselves into harms way. They will simply slink away into the background, hoping to escape all danger.
This is my recipe for peace. It is not complicated nor is it difficult to accomplish. It simply requires those who want to war to be the first in line to do so. If the war is justified, others will voluntarily join with them in order to protect their families and their country, but if it is not, the warmongers will be on their own.
If nothing else, look on the bright side. If the lowest among us, who are those we call politicians, were actually willing to do their own bidding by prosecuting their own wars, then we would no longer have to worry about career politicians, and incumbents would not continue to be parasites feeding off the citizen host. In reality, this would never happen, but what would happen is that war would become a thing of the past, and peace would finally be achievable! What a wonderful world that would be!
November 13, 2010
Reprinted with permission from LewRockwell.com
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