Submitted by Patrick Martin via WSWS.org,
The US military-intelligence complex is engaged in systematic preparations for World War III. As far as the Pentagon is concerned, a military conflict with China and/or Russia is inevitable, and this prospect has become the driving force of its tactical and strategic planning.
Three congressional hearings Tuesday demonstrated this reality. In the morning, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a lengthy hearing on cyberwarfare. In the afternoon, a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee discussed the present size and deployment of the US fleet of aircraft carriers, while another subcommittee of the same panel discussed the modernization of US nuclear weapons.
We will provide a more detailed account of these hearings, which were attended by a WSWS reporter. But certain preliminary observations can be made.
None of the hearings discussed the broader implications of the US preparations for war, or what a major war between nuclear-armed powers would mean for the survival of the human race, and even of life on our planet. On the contrary, the hearings were examples of what might be called the routinization of World War III. A US war with China and/or Russia was taken as given, and the testimony of witnesses and questions from senators and representatives, Democrats and Republicans alike, concerned the best methods for prevailing in such a conflict.
The hearings were component parts of an ongoing process. The witnesses referred to their past writings and statements. The senators and representatives referred to previous testimony by other witnesses. In other words, the preparations for world war, using cyber weapons, aircraft carriers, bombers, missiles and the rest of a vast array of weaponry, have been under way for a protracted period of time. They are not a response to recent events, whether in the South China Sea, Ukraine, Syria or anywhere else.
Each of the hearings presumed a major US conflict with another great power (sometimes unnamed, sometimes explicitly designated as China or Russia) within a relatively short time frame, years rather than decades. The danger of terrorism, hyped incessantly for the purposes of stampeding public opinion, was downplayed and to some extent discounted. At one point in the Senate hearing on cyberwarfare, in response to a direct question from Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the panel witnesses all declared that their greatest concern was nation-states, not terrorists.
One of the witnesses at that hearing was Dr. Peter W. Singer, listed as a “Strategist and Senior Fellow” for New America, a Washington think tank. He titled his presentation, “The Lessons of World War 3.” He began his prepared statement with the following description of that imagined conflict:
“US and Chinese warships battle at sea, firing everything from cannons to cruise missiles to lasers. Stealthy Russian and American fighter jets dogfight in the air, with robotic drones flying as their wingmen. Hackers in Shanghai and Silicon Valley duel in digital playgrounds. And fights in outer space decide who wins below on Earth. Are these scenes from a novel or what could actually take place in the real world the day after tomorrow? The answer is both.”
None of the hearings saw any debate about either the likelihood of a major war or the necessity of winning that war. No one challenged the assumption that “victory” in a world war between nuclear-armed powers is a meaningful concept. The discussion was entirely devoted to what technologies, assets and human resources were required for the US military to prevail.
This was just as true for the Democratic senators and representatives as for their Republican counterparts. By custom, the two parties are seated on opposite sides of the committee or subcommittee chairmen. Without that arrangement, there would be no way of detecting, from their questions and expressions of opinion, which party they belonged to.
Contrary to the media portrayal of Washington as deeply divided between parties with intransigently opposed political outlooks, there was bipartisan agreement on this most fundamental of issues, the preparation of a new imperialist world war.
The unanimity of the political representatives of big business by no means suggests that there are no obstacles in the path of this drive to war. Each of the hearings grappled, in different ways, with the profound crisis confronting American imperialism. This crisis has two major components: the declining economic power of the United States compared to its major rivals, and the internal contradictions of American society, with the deepening alienation of the working class and particularly the youth.
At the House subcommittee hearing on aircraft carriers, the chairman noted that one of the witnesses, a top Navy admiral, had expressed concern over having “an 11-carrier navy in a 15-carrier world.” There were so many challenges confronting Washington, he continued, that what was really needed was a navy of 21 aircraft carriers—double the present size, and one that would bankrupt even a country with far more resources than the United States.
The Senate hearing on cybersecurity touched briefly on the internal challenge to American militarism. The lead witness, retired Gen. Keith Alexander, former director of the National Security Agency and former head of the Pentagon’s CyberCommand, bemoaned the effect of leaks by NSA contractor Edward Snowden and Army private Chelsea Manning, declaring that “insider attacks” were one of the most serious threats facing the US military.
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia asked him directly, referring to Snowden, “Should we treat him as a traitor?” Alexander responded, “He should be treated as a traitor and tried as such.” Manchin nodded heartily, in evident agreement.
While the witnesses and senators chose to use the names of Snowden and Manning to personify the “enemy within,” they were clearly conscious that the domestic opposition to war is far broader than a few individual whistleblowers.
This is not a matter simply of the deep-seated revulsion among working people in response to 14 years of bloody imperialist interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Yemen and across North Africa, important as that is.
A war between the United States and a major power like China or Russia, even if it were possible to prevent its escalation into an all-out nuclear exchange, would involve a colossal mobilization of the resources of American society, both economic and human. It would mean further dramatic reductions in the living standards of the American people, combined with a huge blood toll that would inevitably fall mainly on the children of the working class.
Ever since the Vietnam War, the US military has operated as an all-volunteer force, avoiding conscription, which provoked widespread opposition and direct defiance in the 1960s and early 1970s. A non-nuclear war with China or Russia would mean the restoration of the draft and bring the human cost of war home to every family in America.
Under those conditions, no matter how great the buildup of police powers and the resort to repressive measures against antiwar sentiments, the stability of American society would be put to the test. The US ruling elite is deeply afraid of the political consequences. And it should be.
As the last of the WWII veterans die the memory of how awful war is in reality fades from the greater part of the populace. Yes many have suffered in the last to wars but that was a volunteer army. I fear the next war because my kids are 19 and 22. I believe they will draft women as well as men, that is why they have set up the current paradigm of women being the “same” as men. They will all be cannon fodder for the people in power whose kids will never see the wrong side of the battle.
Bob.
Nope . Washington is not preparing, else Obongo and company wouldn’t being destroying the military with political correctness and other egalitarian bullshit.
Bostonbob.
In the next war avoiding the draft might not be of any avail in avoiding participating in the war.
We’ve been blessed in this country with a highly defensible geographic location that has kept invaders out but I doubt that will be the case this time.
My experience with war (Vietnam) was that the civilian population took as much and often more of a hit than the military forces involved since they ended up the unarmed ones caught between the armed ones who were fighting.
flash,
You’re assuming he is on our side.
Which may not be the case.
“None of the hearings saw any debate about either the likelihood of a major war or the necessity of winning that war. No one challenged the assumption that “victory” in a world war between nuclear-armed powers is a meaningful concept. The discussion was entirely devoted to what technologies, assets and human resources were required for the US military to prevail.”
The “witnesses” (former and active intelligence/military) are proxies for the MIC and use these hearings as sales pitches to enrich their friends…and down the road, themselves when they leave government service. War is a racket.
Anon..I assume no such thing. The US is being set up to lose and in fact has already lost. We are now a melting pot of diversity torn of loyalty , tradition and pride and it all wasn’t Obongo’s doing.Congress helped too.
We have no nation.We have a treasonous government.That’s all
Anon. do you think the Pentagram is on our sides with this PC Women ranger cover up shit?
American has no cavalry coming…we’re on our won.
http://usdefensewatch.com/2015/10/the-ranger-school-records-cover-up-continues/
The Ranger School records story refuses to die, as the Army continues to obstruct Congressman Steve Russell’s investigation into whether three female graduates have been given special treatment at Ranger School.
Key points in the story:
Congressman Russell contacted the Secretary of the Army on September 15, 2015, and requested the Ranger School records for Captain Kristen Griest and First Lieutenant Shaye Haver.
The Secretary of the Army stalled Russell for nine days and then asked for an extension to obtain documents readily available.
The Army waited another two weeks to tell Russell the documents had been shredded.
The Army refuses to tell anyone what the school’s policy is for the storage and destruction of Ranger School records.
The Army refuses to tell the media why they shredded Griest’s and Haver’s records.
The Army refuses to tell the media what they are doing with the third female graduate, Major Lisa Jaster’s records.
The Army wants us to doubt that journalist Susan Keating’s Ranger School sources are real because they are anonymous.
The Army wants us to believe that if Susan Keating’s sources were real they would come forward, when in fact, they are frightened of retribution. Considering the Obama administration’s treatment of whistleblowers, these fears are more than justified.
Congressman Russell was interviewed by The Oklahoman last week concerning the Ranger School story.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Russell: “If you have whistleblowers that come to you begging to look into a matter and as you’ve looked into it, you realize there is probably something to it, based on the evidence we’ve seen so far, you have a moral obligation to investigate it. It wouldn’t matter if it were the Ranger topic or new equipment fielding or maintenance or whatever. We have some serious allegations that have been made that would be serious under any topic.”
“And people say, What have you got? Why aren’t you coming out with this?”
“Because we have people that are terrified that they will lose their careers and we have to protect them.”
Russell continues with an update us on his quest for the Ranger School records.
The Oklahoman: “Have you gotten the records that you sought?”
Russell: “Not from the Army. I’ve gotten nothing from them. In the second letter I got (last week) the Army said they can’t provide the records just yet and they reasserted the fact that the bulk of what I requested had been shredded and they were disappointed that I would suggest that they were up to nefarious activities.”
“Then they provided me an information paper that would try to get at some of what I requested. And this information paper provided a sampling of records. And then they provided an analysis of this sampling.”
“But they didn’t provide me the records to verify that sampling or verify their conclusions or even examine it.”
“So it’s like: Look, if there’s nothing to hide, show me what you have. And if these allegations are not substantiated, then we can drop this and move on. There are allegations from members of the military; I need certain sets of records to substantiate whether those allegations are factual or whether they’re not. It’s nothing more, nothing less.”
The Oklahoman: “Is this (women in combat) issue something the House Armed Services Committee needs to hold hearings about?”
Russell: “Well of course it is. I think the question that we all would ask is: If warriors can be trained to the highest capacity, then why wouldn’t we take efforts to do that? But, we have to do it with integrity, and we have to do it where we maintain the capacity.”
“Now you’ve got the special operations community and the United States Marine Corps coming up with their own sets of conclusions, and some of this is running counter to what people desire. Well, here we’re about to make major policy shifts, and have not had a serious hearing one on this issue. In two years? Three? Why? This is a major, major policy shift.”
“So, I’m asking questions. We were approached by these whistleblowers. And, so as a member of Congress and on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, we have a constitutional requirement to oversee government and its functions. These courses don’t belong to any general. They don’t belong to any service secretary. They don’t belong to anyone. They belong to We the People.”
US Defense Watch is also asking questions and recently requested the Ranger School rosters for Captain Griest and First Lieutenant Haver’s class and for Major Lisa Jaster’s class. Fort Benning refused to turn over the records claiming, “The story was dead,” “It was time to move on,” and “Twenty more females are set to begin Ranger School in November.”
US Defense Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of Defense for the class rosters. There has been no response yet from the DoD.
The Army’s continuing obfuscation is beginning to resemble the St. Louis military and federal records fire on July 12, 1973. The St. Louis fire took place during the Watergate scandal. The blaze destroyed 16-18 million military and federal records and was rumored to have been set to cover up information related to the Watergate conspirators and burglars. The exact cause of the fire was never fully determined.
There is no longer any doubt that a massive cover up is underway in the Department of Defense and the Army. As I have mentioned before, there is a political agenda driving the cover up. The White House wants women in the combat arms and special operations. Therefore, the Army, from Secretary of the Army John McHugh down to Major-General Scott Miller down to the Airborne Ranger Training Brigade command group, are involved in this conspiracy to deceive the American people, regardless of the consequences to our national security.
As Congressman Russell has clearly stated, if the Army has nothing to hide, then show him the records. But, the Army has much to hide. They can’t come clean because they are the main conspirator in this scandal.
For the sake of the nation’s national security, US Defense Watch again recommends that the following personnel be subpoenaed by Congress and ordered to testify under oath in front of the House Armed Services Committee, concerning the special treatment given to female soldiers at Ranger School:
The Honorable John McHugh, Secretary of the Army
General (Ret.) Martin Dempsey, former Chairman of the JCS
Major–General Scott Miller, Commander, US Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning, GA
Colonel David G. Fivecoat, Commander of the Airborne Ranger Training Brigade, Fort Benning, GA
Major Lisa Jaster – recent Ranger School graduate
Captain Kristen Griest – one of the two first female graduates from Ranger School
First Lieutenant Shaye Haver – one of the two first female graduates from Ranger School
Command Sergeant–Major Curtis Arnold, Command Sergeant-Major, Airborne Ranger Training Brigade, Fort Benning, GA
Sergeant First Class Robert Hoffnagle – reported to have specially trained Captain Griest and First Lieutenant Haver for Ranger School
The group of Ranger School instructors who are reported to be journalist, Susan Keating’s sources.
The Army’s senior leaders have broken their oaths by abandoning the Constitution and the nation they have sworn to defend. Congress must take action. If they refuse, the American people must contact their representatives and request that they do something. Things have reached a critical point now. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter will soon be deciding whether or not to allow women into the combat arms and special operations units. He may in fact, be making decisions based on the bodyguard of lies from Fort Benning.
If nothing is done, if the lies and deception continue to go unheeded, then the national security will be in jeopardy.
Anon, this is not news ..it’s been known for some time. Joe McCarthy tried to expose the treason in our Federal system , but McCarthyism and “feeelings” prevented the needed culling.
[img
[/img]
Flash- All that you have posted is correct, I prefer to point out that our country is OCCUPIED by a Marxist regime………..and yes, sadly we are on our own at this point. This is why I am so offended by Stucky promoting Communism as having better aspects than our intended form of government. Many have sounded the alarm yet we allow the freedom train to run full throttle toward the extreme left.
Sitting around pondering my ear hair as to its original intent..What one thing does the great whore house on the slope do well?
Over React. And the whore thing as well.
The female rangers records are where Democrats like Obama’s always go. Carson ignorantly says Joseph built the pyramids to store grain. The female rangers, Obama, Carson, MLK Jr, Colin Powell, Hank Johnson, Kanye West, Marion Berry, Charlie Rangel, Maxine Waters got Great Society affirmative action grease jobs but the taxpayers didn’t get any lubricant.
It really doesn’t matter if they are or aren’t preparing for WWIII. If ‘Murika! keeps it conventional it loses, and if it goes nuclear (which it never will), then everyone loses.
There’s 11 carrier battle groups which are little more than future coral reefs waiting to happen. The logistic chain to any WWIII-class war zones is so long as to be unsupportable, the defense department is anything but that, as they spent the last 70 years preparing to fight WWII over again.
The future war as I see it would roll out as a smack down on naval and air assets which are irreplaceable in the short term and politically unacceptable losses in manpower. The country’s infrastructure will be racked with power outages and communication blackouts due to cyber warfare which will lead to the inevitable disruption of civilian supply chains and panic in the populous and rioting in the cities. The morale on the home front will be nonexistent. The FSA will go ballistic.
The war will end up in an armistice with ‘Murika being the loser. The nation will not be invaded but that won’t matter as the economy collapses and the fighting at home begins between the haves and have not’s.
Expect martial law in place nationally in one form or another for the next twenty years or forever. Food rationing, gloves-off style police state, suspension of any rights….the works.
When considering such a question we must NOT blindly accept the “official story” on anything that’s taken place in the past 50 years. And that being the case, I have no doubt the Pentacrap is continuously wasting Billions of our tax dollars on preparing for WWIII.
That short brunette bitch in the iconic “situation room” photo wrote her doctoral thesis on humane ways to reduce the general population. Think she’s not ready?
The neo-cons took over on 1/20/01 and by 9/11/01 there was no mistake it was a coup. Cheney & company are still in control from Site R or someplace. The rest is just window dressing.
It’s what I’ve been saying!! It’s about the petrodollar and the U.S dollar world reserve currency status. Did anyone notice today’s news? Putin is talking about going into Libya and Yemen, follow the oil! Putin’s going to try and lock up Middleastern oilfields. China’s started its own world bank. War will not be avoided if not in this Administration then early in the next! Book it
Cheney at site R? West coaster is a practioner of the Debbie Wasserma Shultz school of political theory. Just make shit up. He has been using to many mind altering substances.