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Yes, all these centuries later, this planet is at war at least, three utterly disastrous ones in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. And it seems that isnt faintly enough for our president who, at this point, is distinctly stirring up the waters of the Caribbean.
And if the history of this country since the name of the Department of War was changed to no, not the Department of Peace but the Department of Defense in 1949, only to be changed back this year, is any measure, no place is safe from disaster when it comes to Donald J. Trump. Certainly not a DEI U.S. military. Yes, so far, hes only brought the Air Force (and the Navy) to bear in starting to wipe out shipping in the Caribbean. But who knows what our ever stranger future holds, internationally or domestically, when it comes to war-making.
The greatest danger, of course, is that President Trump, as with so many other things, will want a military that's his and no one else's. No Jimmy Kimmel military for him, that's for sure. And as Nick Turse recently reported at The Intercept, hes already deployed at least 35,000 National Guard and other troops in at least five states in this country to help carry out his anti-immigrant agenda and intimidate anyone opposed to him.
As TomDispatch regular William Hartung makes clear today, he and his secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, are already trying to turn that military into a Trumpifically White racist outfit first class. And with that grim reality in mind, let Hartung take you into the part of our military that's actually learned something from Americas disastrous wars since World War II, from Korea to Vietnam, Afghanistan to Iraq and beyond. Keep in mind, for instance, that (though if you weren't reading the website Antiwar.com you'd never know it), the second Trump administration has already launched a record 77 bombing missions in yes! Somalia. And with that, let Hartung consider the world of U.S. military veterans who actually learned something from this country's disastrous wars of the last three quarters of a century. Tom
Can Warriors Stop Endless Wars?
The Role of Veterans in Movements for Peace and Justice
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the former Fox and Friends cohost, claims to be obsessed with making the Pentagon and the military services about the warfighter. His main approach to doing so is a deeply misguided campaign to reduce distractions like commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (the dreaded DEI). No matter that the purpose of DEI is to combat White supremacist attitudes, misogyny, and anti-gay and anti-trans violence in the ranks.
All such forms of discrimination are, in fact, already present in the U.S. military, and the way to build a cohesive defense force is certainly not by allowing them to run wild and be seen as acceptable or normal behavior. The best way to build a stronger, more unified military would, of course, be to make people feel welcome regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or gender identification. That would, in fact, be the only way to build a military that reflects the nation its charged with defending. DEI, after all, is not an irritating slogan. Its an attempt to right historic wrongs in the service of a more effective military and a more unified populace. And its one thing to suggest that current approaches could be made more effective, but quite another to demonize them in the name of forging better warfighters.
In short, the Hegseth method is bound to prove destructive. Count on this, in fact: it will only weaken our military, not strengthen it. The result, if Hegseth's efforts succeed, will indeed be a Whiter, more aggressive armed forces, and quite likely one significantly more loyal to the current occupant of the Oval Office than to the Constitution.
Ex-Warriors for Peace
Thankfully, Hegseth's vision is not shared by many of the veterans of Americas disastrous post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. The eye-opening documentary What I Want You to Know presents the views of just such veterans about their service and about the meaning of the conflicts they fought in. Almost to a person (no, not a man!), they said the following four things:
They don't know why they were sent to the places where they fought
They did not believe the U.S. could win the war they were sent to fight
Their government lied to them
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