Both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate held hearings last week in which they examined the chaotic evacuation from Kabul and the many mistakes made during the war against Afghanistan. The key witnesses were the same generals who presided over the 20-year mess. Meanwhile, over on cable news television, the usual retinue of retired generals, several of whom presided over a war we had no business fighting, held court. We might get less militaristic foreign policy results if we asked people who are not in the war business (like academics, journalists and antiwar activists) about whether or not we should start a war.
General Idiocy
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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Tocqueville wrote that military men favored war because it enabled lower ranked officers opportunities for quick advancement in rank.
One observer of the war in Afghanistan said that the war wasn’t 20 years long but was 20 one year long wars because of new programs instituted before the previous were allowed to achieve “success”, however that was defined.
Every military person wants a piece of the war on their resume.
Graft, Coercion, Corruption, Malfeasance and the Military-Industrial Complex
Simply put, war is good business for our vast military-industrial complex, which has a monstrous influence on our elected officials.
When a single aircraft can cost more than $1 billion, the companies that make them are highly motivated to keep selling them to their captive customer, the United States government.
I find these hearings impossible to sit through usually, unless I’m lubricated with a couple of stiff drinks beforehand and duringhand (and sometimes even afterhand). It terrifies me — and I use the word deliberately — that pretty much all of our “leaders” are scared to death to not constantly and loudly “praise” the military.