56. WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS,
#56, January 12, 2022
Deification of US
Militarism: the Pentagon as God
Tomgram: William Astore, Prefabricated War11-16-21
Farrow, climate
change, the displacement of people, and border militarization
Beckwith, A Mighty Case Against War
William Astore, Prefabricated War
November 16, 2021
Back in 2007, in his first piece for TomDispatch,
retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and historian William Astore focused on
the proliferation of self-congratulatory ribbons and medals on the chests of
America's generals. Here, for
instance, was General David Petraeus at that time -- and keep in mind that,
before he commanded the
101st Airborne Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he had never even
been to war. As Astore put it then,
"I counted nine rows [of ribbons] on Petraeus’ left breast during his
Congressional hearings. If they were a valid metric across time, he would be
roughly thrice as capable and valorous as George C. Marshall, perhaps America’s
greatest soldier-statesman, who somehow ran and won a world war while wearing
only three rows of ribbons." And, by the way, those nine rows weren't even
the sum total of the decorations on that uniform.
In other words, only six years into Washington's
disastrous post-9/11 wars, our losing generals were already treating themselves
like minor deities from Olympus. In the ensuing years, much was written about
evangelical Christianity and its role in supporting a twice-divorced, pussy-grabbing, religion-dismissing, profane
salesman and bankruptee in
the Oval Office, but remarkably little about the fervor of those who might be
considered the truest evangelicals of our moment: America's military high
command and the Pentagon officials who were part and parcel of their world.
They were, of course, evangelists for a religion that Congress has
subscribed to as well with remarkable unanimity, not to say staggering fervor. No
matter that its god (about whom Astore will tell you momentarily) continues to
suck up trillions of dollars in tithes from
the American people as if there were no end to such funds. And mind you,
despite all that dough and all those medals on all those chests, the Pentagon
couldn't keep a single promise it made globally when it came to its supposedly
singular "skill": making war. Think of those bemedaled generals then
as evangelicals for a faith that couldn't deliver, big-time -- evangelists, in
short, for an empire going down, down, down. Now, check out TomDispatch regular Astore,
who also runs the Bracing Views blog,
on this country's true god. Tom
The Pentagon as Pentagod
America’s Abyss of Weapons and Warmaking
By William Astore
Who is America’s god? The Christian god of the
beatitudes, the one who healed the sick, helped the poor, and preached love of
neighbor? Not in these (dis)United States. In the Pledge of Allegiance, we
speak proudly of One Nation under God, but in the aggregate, this country
doesn’t serve or worship Jesus Christ, or Allah, or any other god of justice
and mercy. In truth, the deity America believes in is the five-sided one
headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
In God We Trust is
on all our coins. But, again, which god? The one of “turn the other cheek”? The
one who found his disciples among society’s outcasts? The one who wanted
nothing to do with moneychangers or swords? As Joe Biden might say, give me
a break.
Click here to read more of this
dispatch.
Ronan Farrow . War on
Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence. April 24, 2018.
A harrowing exploration of the collapse of American diplomacy
and the abdication of global leadership, by the winner of the 2018 Pulitzer
Prize in Public Service.
“…what I set out to explore in the pages ahead: an increasingly
authoritarian world in which climate change, the displacement of people, and
border militarization define the experiences of untold millions in the 21st
century.”
US
foreign policy is undergoing a dire transformation, forever changing America’s
place in the world. Institutions of diplomacy and development are bleeding out
after deep budget cuts; the diplomats who make America’s deals and protect its
citizens around the world are walking out in droves. Offices across the State Department sit empty, while abroad the
military-industrial complex has assumed the work once undertaken by
peacemakers. We’re becoming a nation that shoots first and asks questions
later.
In
an astonishing journey from the corridors of power in Washington, DC, to some
of the most remote and dangerous places on earth―Afghanistan, Somalia, and
North Korea among them―acclaimed investigative journalist Ronan Farrow
illuminates one of the most consequential and poorly understood changes in
American history. His firsthand experience as a former State Department
official affords a personal look at some of the last standard bearers of
traditional statecraft, including Richard Holbrooke, who made peace in Bosnia
and died while trying to do so in Afghanistan.
Drawing on newly unearthed
documents, and richly informed by rare interviews with warlords,
whistle-blowers, and policymakers―including every living former secretary of
state from Henry Kissinger to Hillary Clinton to Rex Tillerson―War on Peace makes a
powerful case for an endangered profession. Diplomacy, Farrow argues, has declined after decades of political
cowardice, shortsightedness, and outright malice―but it may just offer America
a way out of a world at war. (from Amazon)
A
Mighty Case Against War
Book Club: A Mighty Case Against War with Kathy Beckwith
In February 2022, World BEYOND War will
be holding a weekly discussion each of four weeks of A Mighty Case Against War
with the author Kathy Beckwith as part of a small group WBW book club limited
to a group of 18 participants. Kathy Beckwith will send each participant a
signed paperback copy of her book. We'll let you know which parts of the book
will be discussed each week along with the Zoom details to access the
discussions. Kathy extends a special invitation to high school students to join
this WBW Book Club selection.
.
About the Book:
Beckwith’s history of war, and in
particular U.S. wars, details why war sells, the fallacies of common
justifications for war, true costs of war, and sensible alternatives. A Mighty
Case Against War proposes that this culturally supported, deeply entrenched
system of governmental violence is simply too costly, destructive,
counterproductive, and inhumane to leave unchallenged. An easily readable book,
this is a resource for youth and adult education, and all who have wondered if
a world beyond war is possible.
"Kathy Beckwith's book lives up to
its title. I probably can't imagine exactly how wonderful a world we'd have if
everyone learned this book in history class, but I'd sure love to find out. I
write about this same topic and nonetheless learned a great deal of new
information here and found it to be brilliantly presented. The author's goal is
clearly not to get us to believe something but to prod us into thinking. She
provides multiple points of view on wars. Understanding what each side saw
helps us grasp what Beckwith points out next: the alternative paths not taken
that could have avoided each particular war. If we learn to anticipate war
propaganda to come, if we are ready to reject it in real time, this book will
have served its purpose, and more books like it will not be needed; war will
have gone from 'inevitable' to archaic, humanity from endangered to
resilient." --David Swanson, author of War Is A Lie
"With clear, thoughtful prose and
careful research, this book offers a systematic investigation into American
wars and various nonviolent alternatives. The author shows U.S. military
actions with new perspectives. The heart of the book is “a gallop” through
America’s 15 wars, not counting the “secret” wars. It is here that the author’s
training as a mediator shows, for she carefully considers the views of both
sides before considering possible alternatives to war. Particularly interesting
are her discussions of nonviolent alternatives to World War II and the American
Revolution. The book concludes with a series of chapters that address various
justifications for war that are commonly invoked. The author writes in an
accessible way about these complex issues, making this book ideal for high
school students interested in a view of U.S. history not presented in the
textbooks, as well as any reader concerned about the role of the U.S. military
in conflicts around the world." --Daemion Lee, review for Skipping Stones
magazine
About the Author:
Kathy Beckwith is a mediation trainer
from Dayton, Oregon, working with schools (K-12) and community mediation
programs. She is a mediator in parent/teen, victim/offender, and neighborhood
mediation, and volunteers as a school mediation coach. Kathy became concerned
about America’s strong reliance on war as a means of resolving international
conflict. That concern led to research and study, and finally to this book. She
discovered that she had, indeed, missed some things in U.S. History class.
Kathy's latest book, just out in 2021
is a young adult novel - ENCOUNTER: When Religions Become Classmates - From
Oregon to India and Back. Kathy is also the author of the picture book Playing
War; a young adult novel, Critical Mass, dealing with sexual abuse in the lives
of teens; and two books related to problem-solving, If You Choose Not to Hit,
and Don’t Shoot! We May Both Be on the Same Side. Kathy is a graduate of
Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho. She has been a Peace Corps
volunteer, caregiver in a residential treatment home for boys, secretary for a
geological exploration office, teacher at an international school in South
India, and host parent for exchange students, in addition to living and playing
with her family on a small farm where wild blackberries abound.
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