We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Truth, lies and Afghanistan

Click here to access article by Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis from Armed Forces Journal. 
I spent last year in Afghanistan, visiting and talking with U.S. troops and their Afghan partners. My duties with the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force took me into every significant area where our soldiers engage the enemy. Over the course of 12 months, I covered more than 9,000 miles and talked, traveled and patrolled with troops in Kandahar, Kunar, Ghazni, Khost, Paktika, Kunduz, Balkh, Nangarhar and other provinces.

What I saw bore no resemblance to rosy official statements by U.S. military leaders about conditions on the ground.
 
This well-meaning US Army officer appears not to understand the people he works for: the One Percent ruling class, who in their megalomania must keep the 99 Percent ignorant of their huge blunders, not to mention war crimes, that have occurred in their invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. 

This has always been the case with these adventures particularly after WWII.  I remember all the rosy statements about war progress in Vietnam from General Westmoreland whenever he was quoted in the media. And what did the ruling class achieve in the Korean War? 

Such defeats or stalemates really don't matter to the military-industrial complex because they always win. Military equipment is destroyed and needs to be replaced through more government contracts. Military officers are provided with more opportunities for advancement particularly if they make things look good regardless of what reality looks like.