Guest Post by Jeff Thomas via International Man
Just prior to a war, the majority of people in the nations that are about to become involved tend to assume that another nation is threatening theirs, whist their own leaders are doing all they can to avoid conflict. This is almost never the case.
The “etiquette” of starting wars is for leaders to claim to their people that the last thing they want is war, but the enemy is goading them into armed conflict and, at some point, retaliation becomes “unavoidable.”
The reason for this etiquette is that, almost invariably, the people of a nation have no desire to go to war.
But if that’s the case, why is world history filled with warfare taking place on a regular basis?
Well, truth be told, there are two groups of people who tend to relish war – the military and the political leaders.
I’ve often quoted Randolph Bourne as saying, “War is the health of the state.” He was quite correct. The larger the nation, the greater the need political leaders have for warfare. After all, there’s no situation in which a people feel more greatly that they need their leaders to take charge, than in a time of war.
Political leaders, after all, thrive on taxation and the oppression of basic rights. And they can get away with taxing a people more heavily during a war. They can also remove basic freedoms “temporarily” in order to keep the people “safe.”
Then, when the war is over, taxes never seem to return to their previous low and freedoms never fully return. With each conflict, the state ratchets up its power over the people.
And in modern times, there’s an additional incentive. Since the end of World War II, the US military-industrial complex has been displeased with the fact that peacetime means diminished revenue for them. Increasingly, they’ve contributed heavily to election campaigns for both major parties in every election.
The repayment for those contributions has always been the same – the political class must find excuses to create a new conflict as soon as another one ends, ensuring the continued revenue of the complex.
This has resulted in the US becoming the first and only country that’s in a consciously created state of perpetual warfare. The cost of this, in 2018, was roughly $600 billion – 54% of all federal discretionary spending.
Much of that cost goes to the maintenance of some 800 military bases across the globe, but the military-industrial complex is forever seeking opportunities for expansion, and having been paid for it with campaign funds, political leaders need to find excuses for new conflicts with regularity.
Presently, world leaders are doing their best to deflect taunts by the US. The self-appointed “world’s policeman” is wagging its finger at North Korea with regard to nuclear weapons development, at Venezuela, seeking to replace their leader with an American puppet, at China with regard to islands in the South China Sea and at a host of countries in the Middle East. To each of these, US leaders have said that armed aggression by the US “cannot be ruled out.” And, “All options are on the table.”
As stated above, the peoples of these countries tend to have no desire to go to war. But political leaders have a vested interest in warfare. In addition, military leaders have a stake in the game.
Imagine having graduated from West Point and having spent your military career as an undistinguished desk jockey. By the time you’ve risen to the rank of general, all you’ve done is push pencils. And yet, the reason you joined up in the first place was to become a military leader, with a chest full of battle ribbons.
This is the conundrum that taunts the more sociopathic military leaders – the George Pattons and the Douglas MacArthurs – who, once they’ve been given a command, tend to become carried away in their zeal to create their own legacy through armed combat. The greater the bloodletting, the greater the victory.
In a leadup to active conflict, such generals tend to be like pit bulls on tight leashes – straining to be released so that they can fulfil their destiny.
In almost every case, there are players on both sides who fit this description. As a result, all that’s needed is a small spark to set off armed conflict.
And generally, the provocation that begins a war is a small one. For World War I, all that was necessary was for an archduke of Austria to be assassinated, by a Bosnian teenager, while riding in an open car.
Within a month, Austria-Hungary and Serbia entered into war. All over Europe, people were astonished at how quickly other countries took up sides. France, Russia, Great Britain and, later, Japan, Greece and the US all teamed up against Austria-Hungary, Germany, Italy and even the Ottoman Empire.
Before the war ended, some four years later, some seventy million military personnel had been involved, plus countless civilians – and all due to a shot fired by a young malcontent.
In most all such cases, when a military retaliates against a minor act of aggression, the people of the respective countries hope that the scuffle will be brief, and life can return to normal. But that’s almost never the way it plays out. Invariably, there are those political and military leaders on both sides who revel in the conflict and are determined to demonstrate that they themselves will emerge as the unquestioned victors.
The technical starting point of any major war is, in fact, incidental. Most any excuse will suffice. What’s necessary is two opponents, each of whom accuses the other of attempting to foment aggression. At that point, all that’s needed to light the spark is a young soldier or agitator with an itchy trigger finger, or a politician with a show of bravado, or a military leader who chooses to break from his orders to stand down.
In many cases, if the war does not start spontaneously, a false-flag incident suffices. One country creates an event which it purports is an act of aggression by its opponent. (The recent events in the Strait of Hormuz have a distinct false-flag odour about them.)
Again, the actual catalyst matters little. Once the rattling of sabres begins, as it has, presently, in the Middle East, all that’s required to create a major war is a slipup or a nudge.
Editor’s Note: The US government is overextending itself by interfering in every corner of the globe. It’s all financed by massive amounts of money printing. However, the next financial crisis could end the whole charade soon.
The truth is, we’re on the cusp of a global economic crisis that could eclipse anything we’ve seen before. That’s exactly why bestselling author Doug Casey and his team just released an urgent new report with all the details. Click here to download the PDF now.
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
What if they gave a war but nobody came?
That’s what drones and mercenaries are for.
A better question is: What if they gave a war but nobody paid?
“What if they gave a war but nobody paid?”
We’d get a push for unification into a single union with a centralized government having the power to tax the formerly sovereign member states (said power being backed by force) in order to “resolve” the “free-rider problem” (i.e., state X not doing its part to pay off the war-debt incurred by state Y).
And a few years later all would chant “U.S.A.! U.S.A!”
Don’t worry if you didn’t see it the first time around, we’ll all be watching the re-run soon. I don’t know what we’ll be calling it (the new Union), so I can’t be specific as to what our children and grandchildren will be chanting, … but chant they will, and it won’t be “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” (perhaps “N.W.O.! N.W.O.!”)
Love is better than hate
A necessary missing ingredient in all this is the amoral individual that volunteers to be a grunt to take orders regardless if the orders are legitimate or not.
There should be not a single US soldier in the ME as there is no declaration of war by Congress. That some mental midget like Dubya Bush could launch the US towards an 18 year war AND the military continues getting recruits during that time indicates the moral depravity of the low level murderers and malingerers (M&M’s) in the military. That another mental midget like Trump has continued them is telling.
And for those equally depraved individuals that thank them for their service, they are the root cause of war.
My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of the higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military.
General Smedley Butler
War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we’ll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.
I wouldn’t go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
General Smedley Butler
I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.
General Smedley Butler
Tell us something we don’t know. Do you know how many times that has been retyped here?
I doubt he does Bags. But he sure likes to type.
Hey Solutions are Obvious!
You say: “There should be not a single US soldier in the ME as there is no declaration of war by Congress. ”
True, no declaration… but Ron Paul tried to get it to a vote, and here is what happened.
http://www.newnation.org/Archives/NNN-Guest-Column-28.html
Republican Chairman Henry Hyde told him that the Constitution was no longer relevant, and here’s the sad news. Hyde was right. The US Constitution is a dead letter, null and void, without teeth, and now just a historical document for scholars to look at. That’s the hard truth of it.
Any plans for the future that you or I or anyone else may make, and that depend on enforcement of the Constitution, are just day dreams and mental jerking off. I hate to say it, but it is the truth. We need to adjust our plans to fit the facts.
I had never seen that before.
Thanks for the information.
Bravo my friend!!
You’re right but didnt obama continue the racket?
Yes, of course he did.
There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between any of them.
There are producers and their are parasites in human societies. There exists a wide range of differences within each group, but the central division between them is ineradicable. A producer will not consider parasitism as a strategy for survival anymore than a parasite would suddenly find themselves wishing to create. Each strategy is viable, but both of them are entirely dependent upon the productive class.
Parasitism can take different forms; some use sympathy to extract their sustenance, like the people panhandling at urban intersections while others use force, like the thieves and muggers. Some of them find other means, like the political class, grifters, insurance frauds, etc.
There is virtually zero need, nor a call for the political class. In order to justify their existence they spend virtually every second of their existence creating the very conditions used to justify their presence-wars, civil laws, immigration, so-called human rights issues, etc.
The problem is their dependence upon the producers they feed off of is frequently a death sentence to the producers. USSR, for example.
If the entire government vanished tomorrow down to the last janitor almost nothing would change. They know that so they can’t even begin to allow you to think it, hence the 24/7/365 news cycle of distractions and fear.
Real world situations have shown that the producers will actually choose to starve, or risk starvation, rather than share with parasites. That is what happens in socialism.
Way back when, the pilgrims came over, and almost promptly starved to death. Why? Well, they were running as a socialist community – everything produced went into a common store. And it seems there were folks that were producers, and there were folks that decided they would be parasites. following the near starvation, it was decided “keep what you produce!” was a better way to go. And magically, everything changed. The producers produced like mad, and the parasites produced, too, as they clearly could see that they would starve otherwise.
HSF: Thank you for that post. It is most apt and telling. There are always parasites of the kind you describe and they call their prey/host marks and fools and stupid. Work for a living? You’re a tool and tax donkey and a form of livestock that gets worked to death so others can live off your labor.
Interesting to watch how the media goes into overdrive to scare people during a proposed government shutdown, like that shutdown is a bad thing. Obama had to work at it by denying access to parks and such for people to even care. When the government is the largest employer in a country you know you have a problem.
Why do some men say military service was one of the best things to happen to them?
Good question deserving of an answer.
But damned if I know what it is.
There are several reasons. Here are just a few.
You have friendships in the military that are intense and personal. When your life is depending on the man watching your back you develop a bond that is seldom found in the civilian world.
You see things, go places and use equipment that you can find no where else. And between the monotony and boredom are moments when you are more alive than you have ever been before. Also often terrified, but it is that shot of adrenaline that makes you focus.
Some vets become addicted to that adrenaline rush and partake of risky behavior trying to recapture it.
A lot of vets feel that they grew up and became adults during their service time. They learned how to push beyond their limits and to succeed in spite of setbacks.
They were valued for their accomplishments. Not for who they know as it can be in the business world.
Enlightening. Thank you.
SeeBee.
I can only speak for myself. At 13 we moved to the city and dad promptly died. I had no guidance or direction and became a two bit street thug. By the time I joined the service at 17 I had already shot or stabbed 6 or 12 punks just like me. Boot camp gave me a purpose and direction I was always looking for but did not know how to find. In those days it was common for Da Judge to give us a choice of the military or Juvenile prison. In those days at that time it meant dating Rufus and Bubba.
After boot camp I had plenty of older men to watch and emulate and learned things that I needed like how to listen to whats said instead of what I want to hear. I was respected for the first time for something other than being a good car thief and no longer had to tense up at the sight of a cop car. The fact that we were used for nefarious purposes doesn’t negate the fact that we were experiencing something others never experience. I still remember those guys like it was yesterday.
Also Enlightening. Thank you for sharing.
I was never in the military, being too young for Vietnam (draft ended first before eligibility) and too old for Grenada (the next formal conflict). I had to make do with college. So I’ll use my Dad’s experience.
15 – 16 years old but strong for his age, hefting sacks of coal and delivering milk and newspapers from elementary school. His father died around his turning 12, he was most of the support for the family from then on (his mother worked, low-wage jobs, eagerly looked forward to the money he brought home). She wanted him to get a mill job, to keep the pay coming; but he wanted away from her domineering ways, and joined the USAF. Lied through his teeth on enlistment papers to get in, but someone wasn’t really fooled; took training well beyond normal until finally sent to Australia (well behind the lines in 1944, no real combat came his way). Left the air force with an honorable discharge, love of flying planes and solid muscle from head to toe.
Went to college on the G.I. Bill, got a degree in mechanical engineering and started working. Picked up a wife just after college from the one he attended, a southern belle with a fine physique. They had five kids over ten years, I was the last. Somehow he sent enough money back to put his three siblings through college, and sent forty a month to his mother until she died (she generally saved it up to finance travel trips around and about; I met her one time I barely remember when she came to visit us). Along the way he worked for a civilian contractor for the Air Force doing wind tunnel tests on new designs. He bought a thirty-acre farm in middle TN and spent the rest of his life keeping the forests and scrub brush from reclaiming it. He built greenhouses for a brief, doomed agricultural effort; a storm destroyed one and it was never profitable. He built a garage / storage workshop, rebuilt the farm house, tore down the decayed barn.
What did the military do for him? It gave him skills, discipline, determination, muscle and motivation to last a lifetime. I’m not sure if I would have made any kind of a soldier, sailor, airman, but it made him at least twice what he would have been as a mill worker in Pennsylvania.
The judges used to say the service would make a man out of you. And I think that’s exactly what some of these gang bangers need today. Thanks for your story which is an inspiration.
It taught me self-discipline, let me know my limitations as well as my potential, provided me with a template for excellence in everything I did whether it was polishing a toilet bowl or communicating an idea or an image. I learned to work with geniuses and drooling retards and to neither be intimidated by nor feel superior to either as long as we had the same mission in front of us. It gave me accountability and responsibility in equal measure, which made me think much further out than I ever had before. I learned how to both keep my cool and lose my shit and to know when each was called for without having to think about it for a second. It gave me a first hand understanding of mortality and just how fragile the human body is and how lucky we are to be alive at all and knowing that, just how important it is to find solutions without resorting to violence unless there are no options left.
I was an infantryman, so I learned how to dress for the weather, fall asleep in any position and at any time, and be to happy with whatever kind of food was available and to be grateful for the warmth, rest, and nourishment. They taught me both respect and pride and showed me how much more I was capable of than I could have ever imagined.
I still fold T-shirts and towels better, and make a tighter bed than any maid. I can dry shave in the dark, tear apart and reassemble a rifle with my eyes closed, and find my way through any terrain in any conditions with complete confidence 40 years after I learned these tasks. I’m sure I could come up with another fifty or more to add to the list and when I’m finally buried it will probably be in the leaning rest, just like they promised.
There’s no way I’d ever let my sons enlist in the military today, but it was- for me- one of the single most formative episodes of my life, one for which I will always be grateful.
So there’s that.
Why?
Why what?
Why did I join or why don’t I want my children to join?
I joined because I was young and from a family who served their country, so part of it was out of tradition and patriotism and the other part was wanting the adventure of jumping out of planes and blowing stuff up, typical young adult male recklessness.
I wouldn’t want my children to do it because the compact between my family and the Nation has been terminated. If everything we believe in and stand for is routinely mocked and disparaged by the government, serving it would be hypocritical.
Herman Goering said it best:
“Naturally the common people don’t want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, IT IS THE LEADERS of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is TELL THEM THEY ARE BEING ATTACKED, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. IT WORKS THE SAME IN ANY COUNTRY.”