23 Comments
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Clayton Eskew's avatar

Great stuff Ken! Next mission: Figure out why all the heads of the security state apparatus feel the need to play dress up.

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StanleyTwoBrix's avatar

Why, did you expect them to actually work?

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Dominic Felipe Blum-Gutierrez's avatar

Looking like a cutscene from what? Part of your article is missing.

Also, Kuiu is a hunting brand. What a dipshit lol. I partially blame Hollywood for deifying soldiers and equating warfighter and truck owner with manhood.

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Carolyn Bakula (Madison, WI)'s avatar

Well, now it's a hunting brand co-opted to hunt Americans.

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Marian Gillis's avatar

Casting and Costumes are the only point.

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Jim's avatar

Make the FBI unfuckable again.

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Keith Dugas's avatar

I don't care if they don't wear underwear

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Laurie Underwood's avatar

@Keith Dugas, I just came here to say the same thing! 😂

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lee levin's avatar

Oooh, sexy

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Randy S. Eisenberg's avatar

Did “warfighting” become an actual word now? Missed the memo.

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Ken Klippenstein's avatar

It’s a military term, hegseth is constantly on about it

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Tom's avatar

I had this same thought back in 2004/2005 during the initial phases of the GWoT. It has apparently been part of formal (internal) military doctrine for many years, but was only disseminated to the public when Bush/Cheney were crafting the modern, "tough" image of the US Armed Forces. I enlisted for a couple of years during that time period and subsequently became involved in the MIC gravy train and the term has been flat out ubiquitous and mainstream ever since.

But yeah, I cringed hard the first time I saw/heard it used during a civilian/military trade show as a contractor.

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Randy S. Eisenberg's avatar

And no one seems to have commented (that I’ve seen so far) about how fucking funny is the title of this piece, nudge nudge, wink wink.

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Randy S. Eisenberg's avatar

I sorta wondered why it used to be “combat” or “battle” (or ”unprovoked hostility”) or the old reliable “active duty” but those are certainly not as macho as “warfighting”. I know, how quaint. Spellcheck doesn’t like it either.

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Randy S. Eisenberg's avatar

But then, from a country which produced a blood-thinning medication named “Warfarin” it’s not starting at all.

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Tom's avatar

"Tactical Old Navy"

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Tom's avatar

Don't forget ICE Barbie and the Department of Homeland (In)Security. These guys are mostly my age or younger, meaning that most of them probably became 'politically aware' at the same time I did. So, given that this period encompasses (or is encompassed by) the Global War on Terror - not to mention the rise of the affiliated militarized police state and social media posturing, it's not surprising that these civilian leaders seem to think cosplaying/larping as soldiers is "normal."

Trump's 2nd term has accurately been referred to as the "Photo-Op Administration." It's like every appearance is designed, scripted and staged as an Instagram post with the dual goals of getting the most "likes" and looking more posed than the last. We're only about 100 days in. Soon enough Patel and Noem will be slinging an AR or submachine gun over one shoulder and a rocket launcher over the other.

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Clif Brown's avatar

Can we have Efrem Zimbalist Jr. back?

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Howie's avatar

Hmmm commando

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Ken Klippenstein's avatar

🫡

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lee levin's avatar

My question is how much was spent training the agents to repel out of helicopters and the other stuff.

And then there is the question of who pays for the uniforms.....

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Share Cropper's avatar

🤣

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StanleyTwoBrix's avatar

"the administration is doing the same thing it claims its predecessor did."

Every accusation is a confession, and it's a thief that fears theft the most.

That being said, the FBI has always sucked. The new militarized look is just being more honest - the FBI exists for little other reason than to maintain the existing hegemony. As power falls into fewer and fewer hands, so too must the guardians of the ruling class become more and more heavily armed - after all, they are not here to protect us, or even solve crimes. They are there to make sure we don't get out of line.

The FBI has been the enemy of every justice movement - spying on anyone who wants to democratize power (in other works, forever persecuting the real Left - obvs the rightwing, corporate Democrats love the FBI), writing MLK Jr repeated letters trying to convince him to commit suicide, COINTELPRO.

Fuck the FBI.

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