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EndlessWar by dreamstime.com
War should always be a last resort. Sometimes war is necessary and justified in order to maintain a nation's security but, often, it is misguided and totally unjustifiable. Our War of Independence can be considered a just and honorable war. The same holds true for World War II when America, together with its allies, primarily Britain and France, went to war to defeat the Axis Powers of Germany, Japan and Italy.
On the other hand the invasion and occupation of Iraq should be considered as one of the most egregious violations of international law in the history of the world. And the Afghanistan War, while originally initiated as retribution for the 9/11 tragedy, quickly became an exercise in overreaction and overkill with a conflicted mission.
This nation and this government are locked into a war mentality that drives it from one war to another; after World War II there was Korea, then Vietnam and then a succession of lesser misguided military conflicts leading up to Iraq and Afghanistan. Which other nation in the world has embraced war to this extent? Is there any nation that spends such a massive amount of its wealth in the proliferation of war?
Mr. Obama, who is supposed to be in the process of winding down the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan is allowing his advisers to bring great pressure on the governments of these nations to allow the U.S. to establish a permanent military presence in each. And on this president's watch the military is involved in conflicts in Libya, Yemen and Somalia.
Which nation might be next, how about Iran? That is a distinct possibility as Israel has been waiting for an opportunity to attack Iran, who it accuses of developing a nuclear bomb. But Israel wants the U.S. to participate in this attack that would almost certainly cause a Middle East inferno. Iran has a very formidable military force and weaponry that, if attacked, it has stated it will use to launch a massive attack on the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40% of the world's seaborne oil is shipped, and on the many U.S. warships in those waters. Pure insanity!
As if that is not enough, a confrontation is developing as we speak as the U.S. is accusing Pakistan and its intelligence service, the ISI, of being closely linked to and supportive of the Taliban-allied Haqqani network of militants, which they been blamed for recent attacks against the U.S. embassy in Kabul and on other facilities. Pakistan vehemently denies these charges which is setting the stage for yet more conflict.
So, here we go again. If America decides to aggressively expand military actions in Pakistan it will be doing so in a region that is home to four nuclear powers; Pakistan, India, China and Russia. Of these nations only India is a real ally of America and is a longtime enemy of Pakistan. As powerful as the U.S. military is, if it ever goes so far as to directly confront this powerful consortium of nations, then the security and future of the entire world will be at great risk.
Why is it that members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, are not voicing strong opposition to these wars and their tremendous costs to America? That's because this Congress has been invaded and occupied by the profiteers of war, from Wall Street to K Street to the corporations of the defense industry. The majority of these controlled legislators dare not do anything that would threaten the defense industries located in their states or districts. They will tolerate war, the loss of U.S. troops, the tragic deaths of innocent civilians and the colossal costs involved in order to protect their jobs; questions of morality are irrelevant to them.
America 's financial foundations are being destroyed by the monumental costs of war; the While House knows it, the Congress knows it but neither of these branches of government has the will and courage to oppose those ultra-powerful facilitators of war who fill their campaign chests with tainted money. This highly influential force is a major part of the richest 1% of Americans who are not about to give up their power and control.
This situation has now become completely unbearable and these masters of war must be stopped before the damage they inflict on America becomes irreparable. The key question is how to do it; is there any conceivable way to stop them? Well, based on the evidence at hand there are three potential scenarios that might materialize and provide a solution.
In the first scenario we are now witnessing what may be the tremendous power of the people of this nation reawakening as the Occupy Wall Street movement has suddenly erupted. This is a movement that calls itself the "99% of Americans" who are no longer willing to be subservient and passive to the "other1%"; those who hold the wealth and power of this nation. As the movement generates momentum in protesting against the most abusive corporate abuses in America it is only a matter of time before its members also zero in on the issue that is bringing the most damage to this nation, namely, war.
In addition to the promise that the #Occupy Wall Street movement brings to the table, there are two other potential scenarios that could well materialize and China is involved in both. The one thing to keep in mind is that over 40% of the funding for America's wars comes from borrowing from China and Japan and, if anything happens to impede that flow of funding, massive problems will follow.
In the first scenario, suppose China and the U.S. continue moving toward military confrontation in Central Asia, in particular, in Pakistan. If this situation comes to a critical boiling point with a direct military confrontation China could cripple the U.S. by cutting off all further loans. While that would severely damage it economically, China would have no other alternative.
Secondly China with a population of more than 1.3 billion is very dependent on a continually growing economy. What if this current world recession greatly worsens, as is entirely possible? If that happens then China could see a drying up of much of its world markets and it could see its economic power greatly diminished. That would cause a sizable economic disruption and a state of internal unrest that could force China to reduce or even eliminate its loans to the U.S. And that loss of war funding would signal the end of America's military domination.
Just consider the damage and destruction that war is bringing to this society. It's bringing terrible harm to teachers, firefighters, the police, our education systems, those in poverty, those on food stamps, the elderly, the mentally and physically disabled, the unemployed, the underemployed, our manufacturing sector and workers, construction workers and the nation's infrastructure. This is proof of the 1% of America growing in power and wealth while the rest of the nation is on a downward spiral.
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