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Stephen Lendman
It’s been that way from inception. America’s history reflects violence. It’s blood-drenched. It glorifies war. It does so in the name of peace.
America believes war is peace. It’s part of the national culture. Eventually it’s self-destructive. Today’s super-weapons make the unthinkable possible.
Hyman Rickover knew.
He knew decades ago. He founded America’s nuclear navy. In 1982, he told Congress:
“I do not believe that nuclear power is worth it if it creates radiation. Then you might ask me why do I have nuclear powered ships?
That is a necessary evil. I would sink them all. I am not proud of the part I played in it. I did it because it was necessary for the safety of this country.”
That’s why I am such a great exponent of stopping this whole nonsense of war. Unfortunately limits – attempts to limit war have always failed.”
America wages permanent wars. It does so against enemies it creates. During the Cold War, Active Defence and AirLand Battle prepared strategies for how America would fight. Soviet Russia was targeted.
Today’s its modern day Russia. It’s China. AirSea Battle targets both countries. More on that below.
In 1998, US Space Command: Vision for 2020 discussed America’s grand strategy.
In 2000, DOD Joint Vision 2020 called for “full spectrum dominance” over all land, surface and sub-surface sea, air, space, electromagnetic spectrum and information systems. It did so with enough overwhelming power to fight and win global wars against any adversary. Nuclear and other mass destruction weapons would be used pre-emptively.
In 1961, General Curtis LeMay believed nuclear war with Soviet Russia was inevitable. He wanted thousands of missiles launched pre-emptively.
He called retaliation against major US cities a small price to pay. At the same time, General Lyman Lemnitzer urged a surprise nuclear attack strategy.
Jack Kennedy expressed disgust. He walked out of a National Security Council meeting.
He wanted none of it. He told Secretary of State Dean Rusk: “And we call ourselves the human race.”
Secretary of Defence McNamara categorically rejected LeMay and Lemnitzer. He should have fired them on the spot. Other extremists then and later urged the same lunacy.
Crazies have great influence today. Today’s weapons make earlier ones look like toys. Armageddon could happen. Life on earth could end in a day. It’s possible. It’s frightening. Rogue states can’t be trusted. America most of all.
Eisenhower warned “against the acquisition of unwarranted influence.” He named the military-industrial complex. “The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist,” he stressed.
Militarism writ large is the national pastime. It’s a national addiction. The business of America is war. It’s multiple wars. It’s permanent ones. It’s ravaging one nation after another.
It’s doing so for wealth, power, resource control, and unchallenged global dominance.
America never was the “land of the free and home of the brave.” It’s a war on humanity society. It’s a “let ‘em eat cake” one. It’s an out-of-control rogue state. It’s ideologically over-the-top. It spends more on militarism and wars than the rest of the world combined.
Doing so lets war profiteers gorge themselves at the public trough. Doing so makes peace impossible. Warrior nations eventually self-destruct. Nations that live by the sword die by it. America’s no exception.
According to Navy Live, Air-Sea Battle (ABS) “is designed to develop force over the long-term. (It) seeks to provide decision makers with a wide range of options to counter aggression from hostile actors.”
It targets China and Russia. It “reflects the US commitment to maintaining escalation advantage during conflict and sustaining security and prosperity in the global commons.” It’s “interoperable air and naval forces that can execute networked, integrated attacks-in-depth to disrupt, destroy, and defeat enemy anti-access area denial capabilities.”
Paul Craig Roberts quoted Amitai Etzioni. He asked “Who Authorised Preparations for War with China?”
“The Pentagon has concluded that the time has come to prepare for with China, and in a manner well beyond crafting the sort of contingency plans that are expected for with a wide range of possible confrontations,” he said. It’s a “momentous decision.” It hasn’t received proper attention. America’s posture is largely Pentagon driven.
It “stands out even more prominently because (a) the change in military posture may well lead to an arms race with China, which could culminate in a nuclear war; and (b) the economic condition of the United States requires a reduction in military spending, not a new arms race.”
“The start of a new term, and with it the appointment of new secretaries of State and Defence, provides an opportunity to review the United States’ China strategy and the military’s role in it.”
“This review is particularly important before the new preparations for war move from an operational concept to a militarization program that includes ordering high-cost weapons systems and forced restructuring.”
“History shows that once these thresholds are crossed, it is exceedingly difficult to change course.”
In September 2001, Congress approved the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
It did so for “the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States.”
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. This article is reproduced from Mathaba News.
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