In 1915, The Lusitania headed toward Europe carrying war munitions and 1198 passengers. The Germans had already warned that they declared the waters off the English coast were considered a war zone. Imagine our surprise when the ship was sunk by a German submarine.
Double checking what I have read about Pearl Harbor, that Truman did not warn the military in Pearl Harbor about a possible Japanese attack, I found an article that said Truman didn't actually know as well as an article with a picture of Capt. Joseph J. Rochefort who led many of the codebreakers who correctly deciphered Japanese messages about Midway. I tend to believe Truman was aware, did nothing to warn Hawaii, and now had justification to enter WWII.
The Gulf of Tonkin event, justifying Johnson's decision for war in Viet Nam, also has shaky grounds as "Secretary McNamara failed to inform President Johnson that the U.S. Naval task group commander in the Tonkin Gulf, Cpt. John J. Herrick, had changed his mind about the alleged North Vietnamese torpedo attack on U.S. warships he had reported earlier that day... and who proposed a 'complete evaluation before any further action taken'", even messaging that no North Vietnamese patrol boats had actually been seen.
And speaking of shaky ground, the controlled demolition of the Towers, the vast amount of money made the next day on Wall Street from put options placed on American and United Airline stocks and the Project for the New American Century noting that 'nothing short of A New Pearl Harbor' would get the American people behind our going to war in the Middle East. Well that worked out well.
This is our country. The one founded for "freedom" after we decimated the Native Americans. The one that has designs now on global hegemony and the necessity of endless wars toward that goal. The one that claims freedom and justice for all, while racism is still alive and well and our prisons are full of non-violent criminals with long sentences. The one that wants to ban Muslims who want to immigrate since we've largely destroyed their countries. The one that wants to overturn environmental protection, like for clean air and clean water, for the unspoken goal of increasing corporate profits. The one that fights in other countries in the name of stopping their human-rights abuses while sending $10.1 million in military aid to Israel each day ($3B/yr) and $0 to Palestinians. Palestinians have, though, received $5.2 billion through USAID over the past 24 years (little more than $200K/yr?). The one that concocts false flags to justify (very financially profitable) wars.
I know... I'm preaching to the choir (I really love this choir, by the way)... and when I decided to add this short close, it hit me that I should send this latest rant to Letters to the Editor here in town... and the one in Fayetteville, NC, where I used to live (it's not as progressive as St. Pete, FL). Couch activism is exhausting.
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