Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 25. August 2011 / Timeline August 25, 2011
Version 3.524. August 2011, 26. August 2011
08/25/2011
A Shill for the American Empire
By Don Monkerud
Leon Panetta's transformation from Clinton's Chief of Staff to head
of the CIA and now Secretary of Defense is a sad disappointment.
With his recent speeches in Monterey Panetta's makeover became
complete.
Panetta ushers in a new phase of using the military to enforce the
policy of corporate America, which requires the complacency of
foreign governments to back up its economic supremacy. The U.S. now
puts a more optimistic smiley face on its domination.
Panetta's makeover includes his characterization of the
all-volunteer army as the core of American democracy. Paying people
to carry guns has nothing to do with democracy. The citizen draft
is the most democratic way to apportion the nation's defense
because it chooses everyone, both rich and poor, alike. The draft
was dropped because citizens objected to bad wars with the advent
of Vietnam.
Recruiting poor high school kids from small rural town who need
jobs and education, or immigrants who receive citizenship in return
for service, is more akin to a paying job than a democratic
approach to national defense. Historically a nation's army was used
for self-defense and a paid army was more properly called a
mercenary army.
The U.S. increasingly relies upon paid mercenaries for its military
force. Newsweek reports that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from
Iraq "will be a boon for the private security industry." In the
first four years of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the U.S. paid $10
billion for what the media politely calls the 11,000 "private
security contractors." Panetta doesn't mention these mercenaries,
but they can hardly be called democratic armed forces.
Panetta goes on to praise two institutions that he helped lobby for
as a congressman-the Naval Post-graduate School and the Defense
Language Institute-as "national treasures." Both are dedicated to
providing the language skills necessary for U.S. military
intervention in other countries and making the military's job of
controlling other countries easier.
Recall that President Bush installed military intelligence
operations in every U.S. embassy around the world. These secret
agents answer only to their military commanders rather than
diplomats and the media does not investigate their activities.
Unfortunately Barack
Obama continued this program. Having the military take such a
prominent role in foreign diplomacy is a clear signal that the U.S.
has entered a new stage in attempting to dominate world
affairs.
Since the beginning of the Bush Wars, the language institutes hired
over 1,000 instructors and more than tripled its budget. The
Defense Language Institute (DLIFLC) began training troops in 2003,
in a push "to win the hearts and minds" of Iraqis and Afghanis.
Enrollment increased 500 percent and over 15,000 military personnel
received training in 2009 alone.
"We went in with the idea we'd overthrow the governments and 'Gee,
it would be great,'" Stephen Payne, DLIFLC command historian, told
the Medill National Security Zone blog. "We had no training going
in, and when the next phase hit, we weren't prepared."
In a nation devoted to democracy wouldn't it be better to praise
the teaching of foreign languages for diplomacy and peace making
rather than for covert military operations? But Panetta seems to
have drunk Bush's kool aid; he goes on to tell us that the
occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan will end "when the individuals
who have threatened this country are no longer there to threaten
our country."
This suggests that Iraq had something to do with the attacks in New
York City on 9/11, the same excuse President Bush used for invading
Iraq. It has been proven beyond any doubt that Iraq had nothing
whatsoever to do with 9/11. History recounts how the Bush/Cheney
regime used 9/11 as a pretext the invading Iraq despite Bush's
flimsy excuses now that he was mislead.
Panetta defends the military budget that Mother Jones estimates at
$1.2 trillion a year, including hidden cost. The U.S. budget equals
the rest of the world combined. Almost 5 percent of U.S. GDP goes
to the military; it spends 10 times more than China and 20 times
more than Russia. And Panetta claims the U.S. will suffer if it
cuts this budget?
Panetta is an even greater disappointment when he tells us that the
job of the military is to protect the American dream-making a
better world for our children.
The American dream is already destroyed. The rapid increase in
globalization, the de-industrialization of the U.S., the
destruction of labor unions, the monopolization of the U.S.
economy, the rise of corporate power, and the precipitous increase
in wealth disparity marks the end of the middle class. This is the
first time in American history that children can expect a lower
standard of living than their parents.
The growing power of the radical right, the anti-immigration
movement, the anti-tax refuseniks, the Tea Party nutters, and
aggressive corporate and business power will insure that the middle
class does not return. America has lost its greatness and joined
the historic ranks of empires that rely upon military power to
retain their might. It's a sad day for the country, while Leon
Panetta does his best to guide the U. S. along this new path.
08/25/2011
Fred er ikke så kostbar som krig
Af Holger Terp
Jeg gad vide, om den danske fredspolitik, militarismen og den
danske krigspoltik overhovedet bliver temaer i den kommende
valgkamp. Man hører og læser så meget om de
stakkels traumatiserede veteraner og alle deres problemer med at
blive resocialiseret efter deres krigsdeltagelse, men mig bekendt
er der ingen der er blevet traumatiseret på grund af deres
virke for freden eller pga pacifisme. Ergo må det være
billigere for samfundet at føre fred end at føre
krig.
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