Perpetual War
"We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex...Dwight D. Eisenhower"
We accept that war used to be fought for outcomes like treasure, resources, territory, and to "save Democracy". Today the war-making itself is the treasure. Ask FedEx, who has a no-bid multi-million dollar contract to fly pallet loads of bottled water from Seattle to Baghdad, or Lockheed-Martin, who constructs incredibly complex multi-million dollar robots (Hellfire missiles)... destroyed the first time they’re used.
This is not von Clausewitz territory…well, somewhat it is, and the strategy makes 100% sense given the desired outcomes.
The collapse of the existential Soviet enemy and supposed upcoming “peace dividend” put the Military Industrial Complex sector in a complete panic. From what I can see, for the Military Industrial Complex, with the end of the cold war came the alarming possibility of rolling back the importance of the military, a drastic drop in defense spending for the military and corporate profits, as well as campaign financing from lobbyists. Subsequently, a new enemy was needed to justify spending on the military. Therefore, around the end of 1990’s, the new target was chosen: the Middle East and Islam. A war of civilizations was on the menu, which could likely drag on indefinitely, until something better came along. Any discussion of “strategy” and “objectives” outside of this raison d'être is just rationalizations for perpetual war. …show more content…
In addition, the unleashing of religious wars and other sectarian violence means we haven't seen the establishment of western style democracies across the Middle East. You see actions which fan the flames of war, extremism and
"We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex...Dwight D. Eisenhower"
We accept that war used to be fought for outcomes like treasure, resources, territory, and to "save Democracy". Today the war-making itself is the treasure. Ask FedEx, who has a no-bid multi-million dollar contract to fly pallet loads of bottled water from Seattle to Baghdad, or Lockheed-Martin, who constructs incredibly complex multi-million dollar robots (Hellfire missiles)... destroyed the first time they’re used.
This is not von Clausewitz territory…well, somewhat it is, and the strategy makes 100% sense given the desired outcomes.
The collapse of the existential Soviet enemy and supposed upcoming “peace dividend” put the Military Industrial Complex sector in a complete panic. From what I can see, for the Military Industrial Complex, with the end of the cold war came the alarming possibility of rolling back the importance of the military, a drastic drop in defense spending for the military and corporate profits, as well as campaign financing from lobbyists. Subsequently, a new enemy was needed to justify spending on the military. Therefore, around the end of 1990’s, the new target was chosen: the Middle East and Islam. A war of civilizations was on the menu, which could likely drag on indefinitely, until something better came along. Any discussion of “strategy” and “objectives” outside of this raison d'être is just rationalizations for perpetual war. …show more content…
In addition, the unleashing of religious wars and other sectarian violence means we haven't seen the establishment of western style democracies across the Middle East. You see actions which fan the flames of war, extremism and