The War Is Wrong
I’m against the war in Afghanistan but not surprised that even liberals are for it, despite its obvious illegality, immorality, and uselessness. I was going to vote for Obama, but not now, because he vows to prosecute the Afghanistan “war against terror” more vigorously than the conservative Bush. In fact this vow would make me hold my nose tripping the lever; but who else is there to vote for? Ralph Nader, the only antiwar candidate (besides Cynthia McKinny.)
When are the liberals of today going to stop acting like the liberals of 1968, who also were afraid to denounce a war that was illegal, immoral, and illogical? Does anyone remember that many liberals had to be dragged kicking and whining to oppose the Vietnam War, and that many didn’t join antiwar protests until the war was clearly lost?
Where does it say that by killing more than a million Iraqis and possibly that many Afghanistanis, freedom is served, nine-eleven is avenged, and the world is made safer for American business? Why are liberals embracing the concept of “collateral damage,” when they should be challenging it? Because that is what modern war is: 95% collateral damage and 100% useless. All these wars are aimed at civilians. Read the tesimony of the new crop of veterans from both wars in the "Winter Soldier" investigation.
Neither McCain nor any present pilot knows who dies beneath their lethal weapons. How does it figure that a controller in McLean can view a picture from a robot 10,000 miles away, see a caravan of men with rifles, and determine they are terrorists? What about those women and children nearby when the missile hits? (Oh well. )If their relatives weren’t terrorists before, they surely will be now. Bush should be given al Qaeda’s highest award for recruitment, because his policies have swollen their ranks. He couldn’t have lured that many into our own army with promises of money or Paradise. Apparently, Obama wants one, too.
Yet, al Qaeda is still considered a marginal and disreputable outfit by most Muslims and especially by the Muslim Brotherhood, the most influential political organization in Islam. It’s obvious that American strategy in Iraq was to draw as many Islamic fighters to the area as possible in order to kill them, the innocent be damned. It is equally evident that as we learn how to kill them, they learn how to fight us. I’m sorry folks, if this sounds like nitpicking to you. But those are people dying under our bombs. Most of them did not have a damned thing to do with Nine-eleven, but if another one occurs, they’ll probably be cheering. If America wants to defeat the Taliban (literally: “students”) it could keep its promise to rebuild the country.
Practically NOTHING has been accomplished! Just as in Iraq, no-bid contracts have been awarded to firms that cannot possibly build schools, roads, sewer systems, water systems, and telecommunications systems, because they are in it for the money and nothing else. All the rest is public relations to hide the corruption and lies. This war like the one in Iraq is fought for domestic political reasons (and profit) rather than necessity. Americans clearly perceive it as an war of vengeance and call it good, which is nothing new for hypocritical Christians who say they believe in forgiveness like their “Prince of Peace.” It promises to spread into Pakistan and create the sort of internal chaos that could prompt terrified nuclear nations to invade and seize their nukes. Does anyone realize what this means for the peace of the whole world? If you didn’t know it before, I will tell it to you now: when a war starts, all bets are off. Everything you took for granted and depended on for a sane and peaceful life is subject to immediate change and erasure. Like Social Security and the price of gasoline.
War is insanity, crazy men dream it up and promote it, and if you were not crazy when you got there, you will be if you leave. George Orwell could not have created a character more villainous than Osama bin Laden, who, despite the fact that he looks like the popular conception of Jesus Christ, is perfectly cast as the new demonic reason for our overblown military budget. War feeds on itself and devours everything else, first by gobbling the truth and then social-support programs, as we all can see from the banquet in Iraq. In the end, nobody loses more than the victors, who might gain more property and power but lose more of their humanity, and undermine their own laws and moral codes, as we clearly have.
War is born in fear, fought in fear, and creates nothing but fear. War brutalizes everybody. “You bomb you!” Allen Ginsberg wrote, and if you can’t see that, now, maybe someday you will learn it the hard way. You become like your enemy in order to defeat him, so where is thy victory? War is bloodlust and primitive, and we better start treating it that way.
It’s a toss-up whether saving the environment or stopping war is more important for liberalism. Without the environment, humans are dead. Without humans, what does the environment matter? If liberals think making the environment better is the most-important issue, they should re-think their position on war itself. Humans are part of the environment, and nothing destroys the environment worse than war. Has anyone tallied the effects of the 50 quadrillion gallons of oil that polluted the oceans during WW II? Or the effects of the millions of tons of other ordinary but deadly toxins shat into the environment by billions of bullets and rockets and bombs during that slaughter? Or the long term effects of Depleted Uranium Weapons? The use of radioactive weapons is nuclear war.
And here is the last question I will ask my fellow liberals: Have you considered that the United States Government will use nukes if it ever is threatened by the outright loss of a war? Are you for that, too? Follow the logic of war and you will end up in Armageddon. Keep fighting this one and soon you can start boosting the war in Pakistan. There is no such thing as an “illegal combatant.” One country’s terrorist is another country’s hero. There is no such thing as a “war for peace.” War is the end of peace. It exalts the military mind and the meanest sons-of-bitches rise to power and stay there. Then the historians come in and make them all heroes.
William Carlos Williams said it best: “History is all lies of course.” The war in Afghanistan is a different lie than the lie of Iraq, but it is still a lie.
When are the liberals of today going to stop acting like the liberals of 1968, who also were afraid to denounce a war that was illegal, immoral, and illogical? Does anyone remember that many liberals had to be dragged kicking and whining to oppose the Vietnam War, and that many didn’t join antiwar protests until the war was clearly lost?
Where does it say that by killing more than a million Iraqis and possibly that many Afghanistanis, freedom is served, nine-eleven is avenged, and the world is made safer for American business? Why are liberals embracing the concept of “collateral damage,” when they should be challenging it? Because that is what modern war is: 95% collateral damage and 100% useless. All these wars are aimed at civilians. Read the tesimony of the new crop of veterans from both wars in the "Winter Soldier" investigation.
Neither McCain nor any present pilot knows who dies beneath their lethal weapons. How does it figure that a controller in McLean can view a picture from a robot 10,000 miles away, see a caravan of men with rifles, and determine they are terrorists? What about those women and children nearby when the missile hits? (Oh well. )If their relatives weren’t terrorists before, they surely will be now. Bush should be given al Qaeda’s highest award for recruitment, because his policies have swollen their ranks. He couldn’t have lured that many into our own army with promises of money or Paradise. Apparently, Obama wants one, too.
Yet, al Qaeda is still considered a marginal and disreputable outfit by most Muslims and especially by the Muslim Brotherhood, the most influential political organization in Islam. It’s obvious that American strategy in Iraq was to draw as many Islamic fighters to the area as possible in order to kill them, the innocent be damned. It is equally evident that as we learn how to kill them, they learn how to fight us. I’m sorry folks, if this sounds like nitpicking to you. But those are people dying under our bombs. Most of them did not have a damned thing to do with Nine-eleven, but if another one occurs, they’ll probably be cheering. If America wants to defeat the Taliban (literally: “students”) it could keep its promise to rebuild the country.
Practically NOTHING has been accomplished! Just as in Iraq, no-bid contracts have been awarded to firms that cannot possibly build schools, roads, sewer systems, water systems, and telecommunications systems, because they are in it for the money and nothing else. All the rest is public relations to hide the corruption and lies. This war like the one in Iraq is fought for domestic political reasons (and profit) rather than necessity. Americans clearly perceive it as an war of vengeance and call it good, which is nothing new for hypocritical Christians who say they believe in forgiveness like their “Prince of Peace.” It promises to spread into Pakistan and create the sort of internal chaos that could prompt terrified nuclear nations to invade and seize their nukes. Does anyone realize what this means for the peace of the whole world? If you didn’t know it before, I will tell it to you now: when a war starts, all bets are off. Everything you took for granted and depended on for a sane and peaceful life is subject to immediate change and erasure. Like Social Security and the price of gasoline.
War is insanity, crazy men dream it up and promote it, and if you were not crazy when you got there, you will be if you leave. George Orwell could not have created a character more villainous than Osama bin Laden, who, despite the fact that he looks like the popular conception of Jesus Christ, is perfectly cast as the new demonic reason for our overblown military budget. War feeds on itself and devours everything else, first by gobbling the truth and then social-support programs, as we all can see from the banquet in Iraq. In the end, nobody loses more than the victors, who might gain more property and power but lose more of their humanity, and undermine their own laws and moral codes, as we clearly have.
War is born in fear, fought in fear, and creates nothing but fear. War brutalizes everybody. “You bomb you!” Allen Ginsberg wrote, and if you can’t see that, now, maybe someday you will learn it the hard way. You become like your enemy in order to defeat him, so where is thy victory? War is bloodlust and primitive, and we better start treating it that way.
It’s a toss-up whether saving the environment or stopping war is more important for liberalism. Without the environment, humans are dead. Without humans, what does the environment matter? If liberals think making the environment better is the most-important issue, they should re-think their position on war itself. Humans are part of the environment, and nothing destroys the environment worse than war. Has anyone tallied the effects of the 50 quadrillion gallons of oil that polluted the oceans during WW II? Or the effects of the millions of tons of other ordinary but deadly toxins shat into the environment by billions of bullets and rockets and bombs during that slaughter? Or the long term effects of Depleted Uranium Weapons? The use of radioactive weapons is nuclear war.
And here is the last question I will ask my fellow liberals: Have you considered that the United States Government will use nukes if it ever is threatened by the outright loss of a war? Are you for that, too? Follow the logic of war and you will end up in Armageddon. Keep fighting this one and soon you can start boosting the war in Pakistan. There is no such thing as an “illegal combatant.” One country’s terrorist is another country’s hero. There is no such thing as a “war for peace.” War is the end of peace. It exalts the military mind and the meanest sons-of-bitches rise to power and stay there. Then the historians come in and make them all heroes.
William Carlos Williams said it best: “History is all lies of course.” The war in Afghanistan is a different lie than the lie of Iraq, but it is still a lie.
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