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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 3/17/13

No More Mr. Nice Guy: Enough is ENOUGH!


Vincent Guarisco
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"Follow the money back to the industries and lobbies whose existence depends on the perpetuation of boogeymen enemies." ~~Sibel Edmonds (a Turkish-American, hired as a translator by the FBI shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.)

Be forewarned, this article is laced with some profanity. My intention is not to offend anyone, I am just sick and tired of publishing nicely written articles that accomplish nothing. This piece is a reality check for all the bullshit we have had to endure over many years of hardship that have ruined our lives and killed, maimed and displaced millions.  

After more than a decade of enduring constant illegal wars, rendition, torturing, false-flag operations, drone strikes, the use of weapons of mass destruction, etc., are we sick of this crap yet? Are we tired of watching our loved ones getting blown to bloody bits, scrapped-up with shovels and returned home in the dead of night in flagged-draped coffins? 
To the widows and countless others who have lost loved ones, did you feel a patriotic buzz when that smooth hand glove gave you a neatly folded flag in place of your lost loved one at the closed-casket funeral? I don't mean to assault your senses, but have we not seen enough poor souls come home -- many with lost limbs and brain trauma -- cursed to remember Uncle Sammy's horror show (over and over) reliving all the hell they went through in distant bloody combat zones? Do you think it's OK or right that they now suffer nightmares and PTSD? Did you know that, currently, soldiers are committing suicide at its highest level in military history? Do you find it alarming that we are now way less safe because of the 12-year foreign policy turmoil our leaders have created around the globe? 
Which brings me to the follow-up question: Do you enjoy getting sodomized by all our so-called representatives in congress -- as well as the executive branch -- as they ruin everything great this country once stood for? Well, pat yourself on the ass and whistle Dixie, because this is just getting started...
For the Veterans: The merchants of death, Wall Street, the oil and gas tycoons and the central bankers all dearly thank you from the bottom of their wallets, for your unwavering service. By the way, did you lose your home to foreclosure while you were deployed in distant lands destroying other peoples homes and lives? Please excuse my little pop-quiz but ... will you salute or wave a friendly hello to the thousands of drones spying on us in our not-so-friendly U.S. skies?
Are you OK with the NSA and CIA monitoring your every digital move, regardless of your service to your country? Or better yet, will you feel like you're bumping uglies when they watch you a lot closer (than civilians) because you have more combat training under your belt which makes you a bigger threat? Now that you are back in the States and everything seems really screwed-up economically, do you think all that money spent on war could have been better served at home for American needs?
 
Did you know that veterans are at the top of the homeless list? Do you feel lucky today (like you hit the freaking lotto) because you may find a minimum-wage job? Do you accept the fact that we have far fewer constitutional rights now than before you got deployed? Do you think it's right that you are charged a copay at the V.A. for degraded healthcare in a rat-infested hospital or clinic? Are you going to obey the law when they come for your guns? Hmmm, are you still humming God Bless America under each breath drawn? If so, you're a trooper, and I sure hope you are ready to fight a hard battle for everything the Republic has lost during your absence! Because ... we sure as hell need your support!
Listen up: Sibel Edmonds -- the most classified woman in U.S. History -- has explained that the money profiteers of the military industrial complex will always make a killing by offering-up hand-picked boogeymen to germinate a war. Do you understand this factual statement? Edmonds is telling the truth! However, you have to read between the lines: It's widely proven (with tons of evidence) that factions within the Bush Administration -- along with some help from at least two other nations -- were the culprits of the attacks on September 11, 2001. Because of this treasonous act, the global "War on Terror" was launched and thus, it continues unabated today.
To fully grasp what Sibel is telling us, I recommend watching her riveting video report: Connecting The Dots. A must see presentation. You can also order her new book "Classified Woman --The Sibel Edmonds Story: A Memoir" here. This should be required reading for all brain-dead Americans who gather most or all of their information from the TV (idiot box) and/or from mainstream newspapers. Although, I do have to admit, those damn newspapers sure do make awesome liners on the bottom of my birdcage.
 
Yes indeed, the merchants of death have found their niche. They figured out long ago that a good hate object (a patsy) is necessary to gain public acceptance for a profitable con-flick. Indeed, they know they must fan the flame of hate for one simple reason: For enlistment purposes. Yes, they depend on us, the working class stiffs, to fight their wars so they -- the power-hungry chicken-hawks -- can cash-in far away from where the metal meets the meat. John Stockwell, an old ex-CIA whistle-blower, calls this scam "the prep-rally-factor." And thus far, with the help of the news media propaganda blitz, It works like a charm.
Indeed, countless lies were forged in rubble. Ever since the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), neo-con think-tank pukes drafted and implemented their destructive policy of "Rebuilding American Defenses," our country has been at war, raping foreign nations one after another of their natural resources. The War on Terror was made easy. All they had to do is give us our "New Pearl Harbor" and voila! With a traumatized nation hyper-aroused and suffering massive post-disaster knee-jerk syndrome, the killing and pilfering was put into motion. Thus, our 21st century musical motto is: Bullet the Blue Sky. Indeed, "Outside is America." 
And so the story goes,with the global "War on Terror" ongoing, the warmongers are able to attack, kill and conquer any nation, on any continent, at any time, at their discretion.
On a personal note, like a pin-prick that has never stopped hurting, I cannot blindly accept that my America is woefully guilty of attacking and destroying any country at will for personal gain. Truly, this horror story makes my moral, ethical and spiritual compass frantically spin out of control. Especially in knowing that as long as someone can make a buck on money soaked in the blood of innocents, it will take a modern miracle to end this mess. So -- let's take the red pill and follow the money-trail down the rabbit hole:
An Interesting Quote Concerning The Use Of Private Military Companies
"The mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous, and if anyone supports his state by the arms of mercenaries, he will never stand firm or sure, as they are disunited, ambitious, without discipline, faithless, bold amongst friends, cowardly amongst enemies, they have no fear of God, and keep no faith with men," wrote Machiavelli in The Prince.
The Profiteers Of War
The net is such a useful tool. I pulled this vital information directly from the top of the page at the Aerospace and Defense Intelligence Report 2013, which provides a list of the Top-100 U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Prime Contractors in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013. They are ranked by the total amount of money awarded. In fiscal year 2013, as of October 31, 2012, the DOD has awarded a whooping total of $24.1 billion in defense contracts. 
In FY 2013, to date, top awarded Lockheed Martin has received $3.14 billion in contract awards (prime contracts) or 13.0% of total contract funds awarded by the DOD. Runner-up is Boeing with $1.06 billion (4.4%) followed by Northrop Grumman in third place with $0.80 billion (3.3%). Raytheon has received $0.70 billion (2.9%) followed by Humana, Health Net, U.S. Department of Energy, United Technologies, Textron, and L-3. BAE Systems are but a few mentioned. Click on the above link to see the whole list.
Oil and Gas Tycoons Reaping The Spoils Of War 

It's really not that hard to figure out that we invade other nations that have plenty of oil and gas reserves. I ask you this: If all those oil wells in distant lands pumped nothing but "sea water," would we be invading their lands? Think about it ... Here are some of the top players bidding for a piece of the spoils.
ExxonMobil (NYSA :XOM) is the largest of the publicly traded integrated oil and gas manufacturers and marketers of commodity petrochemicals, including olefins, aromatics, polyethylene and polypropylene plastics and a range of specialty products. The company also has interests in electric power generation facilities, with several divisions and hundreds of affiliates operating or marketing products in the United States and other countries of the world. 
Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) is a Netherlands-based company that was first launched in 1833 as a shell trading company in London, but now has operations in over 140 countries and covering almost every single aspect of the hydrocarbons industry.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) is a California-based "supermajor" with interests in over 180 countries and numerous joint venture projects in the Middle East. Historically, when the company was known as Standard Oil of California, a subsidiary, California-Arabian Standard Oil Company, was responsible for finding the world's largest oilfield, the Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia. The subsidiary evolved into the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) and was eventually entirely owned by Saudi Arabia and was renamed Saudi Aramco. Saudi Aramco is the largest oil company of any kind in the world and has a staggering 25 percent of the world's oil reserves.
British Petroleum (NYSE:BP) had its initial incarnation granted as a concession by the Shah of Iran in 1901 to search for oil. Seven years later the company made the first significant discovery in the Middle East. With current operations in more than 80 countries, BP maintains two segmented revenue streams: Exploration and Production, and Refining and Marketing. Since the spring, the company has been embroiled in an ongoing public relations battle surrounding its liability in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. For the top ten, click here
War on drugs revealed as total hoax

Indeed, the U.S. military is guarding, assisting the lucrative opium trade in Afghanistan.
In Late 2011, I found this hard-hitting article by Ethan A. Huff, who wrote that ...
"Afghanistan is, by far, the largest grower and exporter of opium in the world today, cultivating a 92 percent market share of the global opium trade. But what may shock many is the fact that the US military has been specifically tasked with guarding Afghan poppy fields, from which opium is derived, in order to protect this multibillion dollar industry that enriches Wall Street, the CIA, MI6, and various other groups that profit big time from this illicit drug trade scheme.

"Prior to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Afghanistan was hardly even a world player in growing poppy, which is used to produce both illegal heroin and pharmaceutical-grade morphine. In fact, the Taliban had been actively destroying poppy fields as part of an effort to rid the country of this harmful plant, as was reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on February 16, 2001, in a piece entitled Nation's opium production virtually wiped out."

And so the story goes:

"...after 9/11, the US military-industrial complex quickly invaded Afghanistan and began facilitating the reinstatement of the country's poppy industry. According to the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP), opium cultivation increased by 657 percent in 2002 after the US military invaded the country under the direction of then-President George W. Bush. Logic dictates, we would have to be completely inept to not know that a lot of these drugs find their way on American soil."
Keep in mind, "the Golden Crescent drug trade, launched by the CIA in the early 1980s, continues to be protected by US intelligence, in liaison with NATO occupation forces and the British military," wrote Prof. Michel Chossudovsky in a 2007 report, before it was revealed that Ahmed Wali Karzai was on the CIA payroll. "The proceeds of this lucrative multibillion dollar contraband are deposited in Western banks. Almost the totality of revenues accrue to corporate interests and criminal syndicates outside Afghanistan." 
Talk about waking up to a "moral coma," I have to agree with Truthout's William Rivers Pitt, when he recently compared the cost of war to new austerity measures imposed on citizens here in the U.S.:
"It is enough. I am finished with the moral geometry that says this is better than that, which makes this good. This is not good; this is, in fact, intolerable. Allowing the perpetrators of war crimes - widely televised ones at that - to retain their good name and go on Sunday talk shows as if they had anything to offer besides their ideology of murder and carnage is intolerable. Entertaining the idea that the billions we spend preparing for war cannot be touched, and so the elderly and the infirm and the young and the weak and the voiceless must pay the freight instead, is intolerable."
Amen, William. I feel your pain. Enough is ENOUGH!
However, we can do our part. Turn off the TV. Grow a garden. Do not let our children enlist in the military. Do not work for the corporations of the military industrial complex. Be wise consumers and do not invest your hard-earned money with them. Get involved and support grassroots organizations that represent peace and goodwill. 
Bottom line, If we stop supporting and fighting war, war will end. It's as easy as that. Plus, always remember this well: "Peace is Patriotic."

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Vincent L. Guarisco is a freelance writer from Washington State, a frustrated Facebook user, and a founding member of the International Alliance of Atomic Veterans. IAAV with AAV here in the U.S..

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