Peters even included a bit of psycho-sexual fantasy in his essay:
"The films most despised by the intellectual elite -- those that feature extreme violence and to-the-victors-the-spoils sex -- are our most popular cultural weapon, bought or bootlegged nearly everywhere. . . . The action films of a Stallone or Schwarzenegger or Chuck Norris rely on visual narratives that do not require dialog for a basic understanding. They deal at the level of universal myth, of pre-text, celebrating the most fundamental impulses. . . . They feature a hero, a villain, a woman to be defended or won--and violence and sex. Complain until doomsday; it sells. . . .
" . . . If religion is the opium of the people, video is their crack cocaine."
Dr. Strangelove, indeed.
Peters has some other strange ideas. While the Bush administration has talked about making a "new Middle East," Peters has actually drawn up the map, which basically calls for the dismemberment of Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Apparently this map was displayed at the NATO War College in Rome in 2006, and somewhat predictably, the Turks, as members of NATO, were not amused.
Clinton should also be held to account for this, even if not so much as McCain. The article's 1997 publication date places it square in the middle of her husband's presidency, an association she has used often when favorable. Of course, the federal government issues millions of pieces of paper each year, and it would be difficult to monitor it all. Still, this was not an obscure document, and for something that inflammatory and outrageous to be published by the US Army, it seems someone in the Clinton administration was not doing their job. And ultimately, the President is commander-in-chief.
The McCain and Clinton campaigns were offered the opportunity to respond to Peters' article prior to posting, but these efforts were unsuccessful. Peters also could not be reached for comment.
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