In Search of a Good Warby David Swanson
The U.S. public is not longing for a U.S. war in Ukraine.
Seven percent want military options considered (poll by McClatchy-Marist, April 7-10), up from six percent a bit earlier (Pew, March 20-23), or 12 percent for U.S. ground troops and 17 percent for air strikes (CNN, March 7-9).
Polling is similar on U.S. desire for a war with Iran, or for U.S. military involvement in Syria. Many more Americans believe in ghosts and UFOs, according to the polls, than believe that these would be good wars.
The U.S. public never got behind the war on Libya, and for years a majority has said that the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan never should have been launched.
The search for a good war is beginning to look as futile as the search for the mythical city of El Dorado. And yet that search remains our top public project.
The U.S. military swallows 55.2 percent of federal discretionary spending, according to the National Priorities Project. Televised U.S. sporting events thank members of the military for watching from 175 nations. U.S. aircraft carriers patrol the world’s seas. U.S. drones buzz the skies of nations thousands of miles from our shores.
No other nation spends remotely comparable funds on militarism, and much of what the United States buys has no defensive purpose — unless “defense” is understood as deterrence or preemption or, indeed, aggression. As the world’s number one supplier of weapons to other nations, ours may be said to extend its search for a good war beyond its own affairs as well...
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/05/search-good-war.htmlPeace in our lifetime!
Yeah right....
