What gets lost in all of this is the young men and women who serve. While the self serving leaders purposefully inject themselves into politics to make sure everyone attached to the complex gets fed, they will use these kids for fodder. Not to serve and protect our nation but to serve and protect these assholes careers and wallets.
Guess which moms used to raise their boys to go into the military? The half of the country labeled every name a person can think to call them? Yeah. We aren't doing that anymore.
I realize that it was inappropriate, but I laughed so hard at parts of this column that I almost fell out of my chair and crushed my dog. The military is just one more part of a dying country. Cynical? Absolutely. But realistic.
I'm not sure "losing" is the problem. The problem is that military is doing things that should not be done such as protecting ethnic cleansing by Israel. Joe Biden's statement that he is a Zionist was an awful, if truthful, admission. Zionism is not doing good in the world, whereas the forgotten concept of liberty and justice for all pledged the country to do so. Military glory depends on the idea that one is righteous when dishing out lethal force or supporting those that do. Americans from all walks of life flooded to join the military in WW2, even movie stars.
The image of the rank and file military is of people who have little to hope for, but that they can get trained in the military for work in civil society afterward. The economic scene has been so poor for those at the bottom of the economy that military service has looked like a good escape route, the unstoppable rise in income inequality helps that along, thus volunteering has worked in the past.
But "be all you can be" collapses when what you are expected to do is as far from what the Peace Corp did as it can possibly be. Everyone who is honest will tell you that another war against the potential (and constantly promoted) bad guys, Russia and China, would be suicidal. Thus the "pivot toward Asia" is nonsense, even if China were not our biggest supplier of all the stuff we love to buy. Whoever is speaking of this pivoting is living in a fantasy world.
Not to be dismissed is the fact that the entire armed might of the US is now pledged to a moral atrocity due to the US being in the iron grip of the great wealth of American Zionists. It is the logical outcome of the Supreme Court deciding that money is speech and that private money must be allowed without limit in election campaigns. I believe that with these decisions a majority out of a group of 9 people have sealed the fate of the US, without a single vote of the public being involved.
It is hard to see what America is now standing for in the world. If one is going to put his/her life on the life, it's important to know it is for something worthwhile. It isn't that the military has been losing, it is that it has not been defending the county since WW2; it is that the country itself has been lost to the power of money. It is not we the people who now rule, it is we the profiteers and I cannot see any way back.
Public trust in the military may effectively be a proxy for public trust in US foreign policy, for which the military ultimately bears little responsibility. Ironically, it is the executive branch (and to some extent Congress) that are most responsible for foreign policy, but it rarely proves salient for domestic elections more focused on the whims and fads of the imperial center.
The closing reflection (on whether Trump’s nominees are poised change any of this) is interesting. It will all turn on what Trump had for breakfast on any given day, but the foreign policy paradigm may also prove remarkably durable. For all of Trump’s rhetoric concerning the corruption of the deep state, his message to the CIA soon after his first inauguration was that the agency would enjoy carte blanche. The ensuing wave of coups across Latin America (in countries including Venezuela and Bolivia, which few have ever laid at the CIA’s feet) would seem to offer evidence of his sincerity (when addressing agency officials) as well as his willingness to lie (to the public about his intentions).
So much for that great and wise Trump who is going to fire all of those "loser" generals for getting us into our imperialist adventures. Meet the new boss...worse than the old boss?
The military industrial complex is its own BEAST - a massive engine powering an enterprise with a deeply rooted tradition that goes back to the days when protecting America's slave trade business was the priority - and Eisenhower warned against establishing one. Many of us who come from military backgrounds as 'brats' and former servicemembers have been very aware of US military history and while we all take the oath, people who choose to serve should be going in with a full understanding that the purpose of the military is to serve the country's "interests" and those interests could make even those on the right wing become conscientious objectors.
From my own experience having served in the 90's, the US military has always been radicalized white Christian nationalist and there has NEVER been a period in the institution's history where changes to be more inclusive and equal weren't met with serious pushback in the form of silent corporal punishment conducted by peers and right wing extremist leadership.
How about some positivity? It certainly won't happen with the status quo. They are going to make every effort to make major changes. The nice thing is we no longer need to listen to the naysayers.
I can't comment on their intelligence but I do know none have advocated for deploying the US military on the streets against the civilian population like Hegseth has.
Why do you think this is an appropriate solution to American imperialism?
Black mold in Fort Eisenhower/Gordon barracks for the past few years has done more to impact cybersecurity readiness than anything Russia, China, or whoever has cooked up. Why would anyone enlisted stay in those conditions? It's not like they can easily find housing off-base, either, with an E4's salary. It's been going on for years, and they know the reason (maintenance contractor embezzling money) and it's still a problem. And then AC breaks, and it doesn't get fixed. Some Soldiers buy in-window AC units since Georgia's super hot, and they get told to take them out since it could be a security concern (I guess someone might climb up three stories to their room, pull out the AC unit, and get in that way? To do what, steal their TV? The base wasn't that dangerous, it was the one place I felt comfortable leaving my car unlocked outside).
But sure, maybe a $300/month bonus for passing the JQR each year (involves studying, working in an inane online learning platform, and then passing a board - verbal interview - in order to get it) will solve the problem.
Enlisted cyber folks aren't just jumping ship to go private because of the money. And it's not like it's the cyber branch's "fault", this is an issue at a lot of different bases (and there's a lot more than just cyber at Eisenhower)
What gets lost in all of this is the young men and women who serve. While the self serving leaders purposefully inject themselves into politics to make sure everyone attached to the complex gets fed, they will use these kids for fodder. Not to serve and protect our nation but to serve and protect these assholes careers and wallets.
Guess which moms used to raise their boys to go into the military? The half of the country labeled every name a person can think to call them? Yeah. We aren't doing that anymore.
I realize that it was inappropriate, but I laughed so hard at parts of this column that I almost fell out of my chair and crushed my dog. The military is just one more part of a dying country. Cynical? Absolutely. But realistic.
I was laughing writing it!
I'm not sure "losing" is the problem. The problem is that military is doing things that should not be done such as protecting ethnic cleansing by Israel. Joe Biden's statement that he is a Zionist was an awful, if truthful, admission. Zionism is not doing good in the world, whereas the forgotten concept of liberty and justice for all pledged the country to do so. Military glory depends on the idea that one is righteous when dishing out lethal force or supporting those that do. Americans from all walks of life flooded to join the military in WW2, even movie stars.
The image of the rank and file military is of people who have little to hope for, but that they can get trained in the military for work in civil society afterward. The economic scene has been so poor for those at the bottom of the economy that military service has looked like a good escape route, the unstoppable rise in income inequality helps that along, thus volunteering has worked in the past.
But "be all you can be" collapses when what you are expected to do is as far from what the Peace Corp did as it can possibly be. Everyone who is honest will tell you that another war against the potential (and constantly promoted) bad guys, Russia and China, would be suicidal. Thus the "pivot toward Asia" is nonsense, even if China were not our biggest supplier of all the stuff we love to buy. Whoever is speaking of this pivoting is living in a fantasy world.
Not to be dismissed is the fact that the entire armed might of the US is now pledged to a moral atrocity due to the US being in the iron grip of the great wealth of American Zionists. It is the logical outcome of the Supreme Court deciding that money is speech and that private money must be allowed without limit in election campaigns. I believe that with these decisions a majority out of a group of 9 people have sealed the fate of the US, without a single vote of the public being involved.
It is hard to see what America is now standing for in the world. If one is going to put his/her life on the life, it's important to know it is for something worthwhile. It isn't that the military has been losing, it is that it has not been defending the county since WW2; it is that the country itself has been lost to the power of money. It is not we the people who now rule, it is we the profiteers and I cannot see any way back.
Public trust in the military may effectively be a proxy for public trust in US foreign policy, for which the military ultimately bears little responsibility. Ironically, it is the executive branch (and to some extent Congress) that are most responsible for foreign policy, but it rarely proves salient for domestic elections more focused on the whims and fads of the imperial center.
The one thing voters have been able to agree on for the last generation is to throw the bums out, yet foreign policy has remained consistently deferential to military industrial corruption and empire building. I wrote recently about the durability of that electoral pattern over the past 30 years. https://open.substack.com/pub/shahidbuttar/p/7-ways-democrats-made-donald-trump?r=97w99&utm_medium=ios
Yet, the one thing that brings together the supposedly warring political parties in Washington is any opportunity to misdirect public funds to weapons manufacturers. I wrote about that, too. https://open.substack.com/pub/shahidbuttar/p/weapon-sales-unite-washingtons-warring?r=97w99&utm_medium=ios
The closing reflection (on whether Trump’s nominees are poised change any of this) is interesting. It will all turn on what Trump had for breakfast on any given day, but the foreign policy paradigm may also prove remarkably durable. For all of Trump’s rhetoric concerning the corruption of the deep state, his message to the CIA soon after his first inauguration was that the agency would enjoy carte blanche. The ensuing wave of coups across Latin America (in countries including Venezuela and Bolivia, which few have ever laid at the CIA’s feet) would seem to offer evidence of his sincerity (when addressing agency officials) as well as his willingness to lie (to the public about his intentions).
And the public now knows we are on the same team with ISIS
"we are still spending billions on Afghanistan"
What are we still spending on Afghanistan? Are you including things like veterans benefits?
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-mexico-drug-cartels-military-invade-1235183177/
So much for that great and wise Trump who is going to fire all of those "loser" generals for getting us into our imperialist adventures. Meet the new boss...worse than the old boss?
Now what?
The military industrial complex is its own BEAST - a massive engine powering an enterprise with a deeply rooted tradition that goes back to the days when protecting America's slave trade business was the priority - and Eisenhower warned against establishing one. Many of us who come from military backgrounds as 'brats' and former servicemembers have been very aware of US military history and while we all take the oath, people who choose to serve should be going in with a full understanding that the purpose of the military is to serve the country's "interests" and those interests could make even those on the right wing become conscientious objectors.
From my own experience having served in the 90's, the US military has always been radicalized white Christian nationalist and there has NEVER been a period in the institution's history where changes to be more inclusive and equal weren't met with serious pushback in the form of silent corporal punishment conducted by peers and right wing extremist leadership.
Just sayin'.
How about some positivity? It certainly won't happen with the status quo. They are going to make every effort to make major changes. The nice thing is we no longer need to listen to the naysayers.
Really? They're all "idiots"?
I can't comment on their intelligence but I do know none have advocated for deploying the US military on the streets against the civilian population like Hegseth has.
Why do you think this is an appropriate solution to American imperialism?
Black mold in Fort Eisenhower/Gordon barracks for the past few years has done more to impact cybersecurity readiness than anything Russia, China, or whoever has cooked up. Why would anyone enlisted stay in those conditions? It's not like they can easily find housing off-base, either, with an E4's salary. It's been going on for years, and they know the reason (maintenance contractor embezzling money) and it's still a problem. And then AC breaks, and it doesn't get fixed. Some Soldiers buy in-window AC units since Georgia's super hot, and they get told to take them out since it could be a security concern (I guess someone might climb up three stories to their room, pull out the AC unit, and get in that way? To do what, steal their TV? The base wasn't that dangerous, it was the one place I felt comfortable leaving my car unlocked outside).
But sure, maybe a $300/month bonus for passing the JQR each year (involves studying, working in an inane online learning platform, and then passing a board - verbal interview - in order to get it) will solve the problem.
Enlisted cyber folks aren't just jumping ship to go private because of the money. And it's not like it's the cyber branch's "fault", this is an issue at a lot of different bases (and there's a lot more than just cyber at Eisenhower)
Hysterical to consider the White Sox more accountable than the pentagon, but, even as a fan, I agree.