As a
species, humanity is the world’s most spectacular creation. Whether
shaped by evolution or divinity, its complexity is unparalleled, and progress
unchallenged. Man is supposed to be a benign, social creature, and throughout
my life, I have met hundreds of amazing people. Unfortunately, its cumulative
history states otherwise. That is why I have always been particularly
obsessed with the concept of WAR over the past two decades.
My
interest in WAR was initially piqued by literature – and film –
about one of the most tragic wastes of life of the 20th Century
– Vietnam. Everything about this horrific event is deplorable,
including:
1. The
misguided reasons it was conceived
2.
Fraudulent catalysts for its launch
3. 1.5
million deaths
4. Tens of billions of wasted capital
5. The appalling
treatment of war veterans
But
America’s “leaders” thought it a wise idea, not 20 years
following World War II and 50 after World War I. A combined 75
million were killed and 150 million injured – not including the other,
myriad consequences of global conflagration, with little to show for it.
Before
Vietnam, the U.S. was viewed as a human rights “protector,”
itself a misnomer given the large amount of questionable wars it participated
in during its first 150 years of existence – many in conquest of native
Indian lands.
List
of Wars involving the United States – Wikipedia
However,
for the most part that description fit well, and even Vietnam –
misguided or not – had an element of brainwashed belief that the
Vietnamese were somehow being protected by our presence. Unfortunately, as
America’s economic and political POWER increased, so did the size of
its government, ego, and ambition. Moreover, it should be no surprise this
“triumvirate of evil” exponentially expanded when the gold
standard was abandoned in 1971, a direct result of the Vietnam War.
With money comes ego, and with ego ambition, as Yoda might say.
Regardless
of the real story behind 9/11 – you know my view – it was incredible
to see America, just 27 years after Vietnam ended, invading another large
nation under questionable auspices. In this case, the President didn’t
even ask for a Constitutionally-required war declaration, and Congress
could care less. Hence, another decade-long WAR for no apparent reason,
killing another 1.5 million people – although all you’ll ever
hear about are the 6,300 U.S. soldiers. And let’s not even go into the injuries,
mental trauma, property destruction, and economic collapse
caused by the war. You know, things that don’t
matter to Americans, so long as the government sends its “free
lunch.”
Just Foreign Policy – Iraq
Deaths
The Iraqi
War “ended” just two months ago – while the still more
ridiculous Afghanistan campaign rages on – and already the troops,
thinned out and traumatized, have been deployed to the Persian Gulf to
prepare for our next incursion, World War III.
Even to
the casual observer, there can be no doubt America and Israel desperately
want WAR, as they could not be more OVERT with their
statements, actions, and plans. Heck, we have not only sanctioned Iran
to the point that it is on cusp of hyperinflation and economic
collapse, but have threatened our ALLIES if they don’t sanction
Iran as well. We continue to speak of Iran’s nuclear capabilities,
which obviously we know as little about as we did of Iraq’s supposed
“Weapons of Massive Destruction.” Not to mention, the since
disproven allegations that Saddam Hussein funded 9/11.
As we
speak, GLOBAL gasoline prices are at all-time highs – with the heavily
populated Northern Hemisphere not yet in its summer driving season –
amidst an expanding global recession that will deteriorate dramatically
if an Iranian military confrontation commences.
So WHY on
Earth are we doing this? WHAT positive outcome can be achieved? And WHO will
benefit?
To explain
this conundrum, go no further than the last question – WHO will
benefit. There is no simpler question than WHO will benefit, nor WHO has benefitted from essentially ALL the
catastrophic decisions that led to the demise of the global economy. And that
answer is thus – the Military-Industrial Complex, and the true
“axis of evil” – Washington, Wall Street, and the Main
Stream Media.
I would
love to find a deeper psychological or philosophical meaning behind
man’s actions, but have unfortunately been jaded by four decades of
observation. And sadly, what I’ve learned is the quest for POWER and
– particularly – MONEY, is man’s
tragic flaw. For millennia, cultures have annihilated each other in the quest
for POWER and MONEY, although such MONEY was not “dollars” but
PHYSICAL gold and silver. Millions of good people will live until this inevitably
occurs, and many will fall victim to this same tragic flaw. Eventually,
mankind will be destroyed by the Earth, aliens, or its own hand, but until
that time, expect nothing less than what it has always achieved – MASS
DESTRUCTION.
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