Look at what we’ve won with the sabre and the gun

In the movie Wag the Dog, a president takes a country into war to distract from scandal and policy failures. Don’t we wish it were just black humor! Every leader since the stone age has known that war is the surest way to pull a community together and justify demands for obedience. 

If people understood the real purpose of war, they would refuse to fight. In 1935, Smedley Butler, a US General and a war hero many times over, figured this out — late, but not too late to write a book called War is a Racket. In modern times, David Swanson wrote a book called War is a Lie. He makes a case that all the American wars were fought on false pretenses. 

The “good wars” — the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Second World War — they were all perfectly avoidable tragedies. The bad wars — The Mexican War, the Spanish War, World War I, the Korean War, Vietnam and twice into Iraq — these were utter frauds, killing for profit and territory.

When Gorbachev campaigned to end the Cold War, he said “We are going to deprive you of an enemy.” What sense does this make? Certainly, he was not speaking to the American people who are, of course, better off without an enemy. But the collapse of international communism deprived American Presidents and political leaders of the Communist bogeyman that they had used to enhance their power and suppress dissent. 

Our leaders invented the War on Terror to keep us in fear and to distract us from asking questions. Why has the standard of living stagnated in the US while people are working harder than ever? Why is the middle class shrinking while the rich continue to get richer? Why could my parents afford to buy a home, but here I am, ten years out of college and still struggling to launch a career?

When the War on Terror lost its ability to terrify, they created the War on COVID, More sacrifice and obedience was demanded of us than at any time in US history, including two world wars. 

Now the power and influence of the United States is declining globally. Several European countries have higher standards of living, and many countries around the world have lower levels of poverty. Many countries have better health, lower childhood mortality and longer lifespans than the US. China has surpassed the US in the size of its economy. 

There is a danger that the US is creating wars in a desperate attempt to retain its position as the lone global superpower. 

Remember the Maine was the lie that launched the Spanish-American War. The Korean War (1950-53) was built on the lie that Russia and North Korea had attacked Seoul. The Vietnam War (1965-74) was built on a lie about an American boat being attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin. The first Gulf War was created when the US lured Saddam Hussein into Kuwait (1993) with Machiavellian diplomatic deceptions. The Afghan war (2001-2022) was built on several lies about Osama bin Laden. The second Gulf War (2003-21?? ) was built on the lie that Iraq had secret facilities building “weapons of mass destruction”. 

Now they are preparing us for war with China with lies about the Chinese Communist Party. We are told that the Chinese majority is persecuting the Muslim minority (Uyghurs) in Xinjiang. A United Nations investigation cleared the Chinese of all such charges. We are told that there is no democracy in China, but in fact the Chinese government has solid support of its people in a way that no American government has been supported since the New Deal. We are told that China is hellbent on invading Taiwan, when, in fact, China and Taiwan have mutually benefited from trade and cultural exchange ever since the two split in 1949. 

The war in Ukraine is also built on lies. We are told that we are defending democracy in Ukraine, but in fact the US overthrew the democratically elected government in 2014 and installed a leader of our own choice who was friendlier to the US. “President” Zelensky has declared martial law, jailed the opposition, and canceled elections. We are asked to come to the aid of the Ukrainian people, but those are the people who are suffering most, as pawns in a proxy war between two superpowers. 

The US formerly  rebuilt Europe and vanquished Japan with the Marshall Plan. Now we have only a “Martial Plan”, saturating Europe with American military bases. We used to build roads and hospitals and electric grids in Africa, and send teachers under the Peace Corps. Now we assert our power with bombs and drones and CIA-sponsored coups. COVID ended the Peace Corps. Meanwhile, China has taken up the project that used to be ours, building infrastructure in Africa and the Belt and Road Initiative in Asia.

We are still a rich and resourceful nation. Imagine the friends we would make the world over if the entire US military budget were converted to programs ending poverty and disease. Imagine if we traveled the world seeking to learn from other cultures instead of creating markets for our corporations. Who would want to attack such a country? There would be no need for a trillion-dollar-a-year killing machine.