 Editorial Comment from Elizabeth V. HallettThe assaults on logic, international diplomatic agreements and the intelligence of the American People, in order to generate fear and justify current bombing, cannot be in the best interest of our citizens, who will end up going into battle; our country, which will invite dangerous new attacks by invisible actors; or for our credibility in terms of working with other countries. This is to say nothing of the enormous cost of taxpayer dollars to fund escalations and the endless-war production of weapons that Col. Lawrence Wilkerson calls out in his interview with Amy Goodman in the link below. Please click on the links to the two interviews we have extracted for you from Democracy Now! media to get valuable historical perspectives from two retired Army Colonels who now teach American History, based upon their years of experience and education. These are elders we should be listening to: Andrew Bacevich: Trump Sparked “Unnecessary Crisis” by Killing Soleimani, Barely Avoiding War Their honest and strident critiques shed light upon views tempered bythe culture of the military-industrial complex, academia and their application of a moral compass, refined by direct experience in the Middle East. Meanwhile we are watching the collapse of many systems that a normal government would oversee, including education, social services, medical care delivery and environmental protection, to name just a few. At Peace House, we see a connection between the issues of food insecurity, homelessness, a lack of medical and other human services as connected to the Endless War Machine that Col. Wilkerson is calling out, and that President Eisenhower warned us about decades ago. Peace House will continue to bring you information that reflects the critical need for us all to speak out and act to bring about a nonviolent revolution of values that will steer the course away from a culture of violence and into a culture of peace. In solidarity, Elizabeth V. Hallett Director, Peace House Ashland, OR “America exists today to make war. How else do we interpret 19 straight years of war and no end in sight? It’s part of who we are. It’s part of what the American Empire is,” says Wilkerson. “We are going to cheat and steal to do whatever it is we have to do to continue this war complex. That’s the truth of it. And that’s the agony of it.” Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, RET, U.S. Army Retired U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson
His last positions in government were as Secretary of State Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff (2002-05), Associate Director of the State Department’s Policy Planning staff under the directorship of Ambassador Richard N. Haas, and member of that staff responsible for East Asia and the Pacific, political-military and legislative affairs (2001-02). Before serving at the State Department, Wilkerson worked as a consultant to General Powell (1997-2000). Before that, he served 31 years in the U.S. Army, including as Deputy Executive Officer to then-General Colin Powell when he commanded the U.S. Army Forces Command (1989), Special Assistant to General Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-93), and as Director and Deputy Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College at Quantico, Virginia (1993-97). Lawrence Wilkerson is the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. He also taught for six years in the University Honors Program at the George Washington University in Washington, DC (2006-2011). * Bio from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation **** Andrew Bacevich, retired colonel, Vietnam War veteran
His book is just out: The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory. Andrew Bacevich is president and co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. His latest piece for the Los Angeles Times is headlined “Trump’s Suleimani strike is more of the same old losing U.S. game plan in the Mideast.” Andrew J. Bacevich, a professor of history and international relations at Boston University, is the author of America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History, which has just been published by Random House. He is also editor of the book, The Short American Century (Harvard Univ. Press), and author of several others, including: Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country (American Empire Project);Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War, The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (American Empire Project), and The Long War: A New History of U.S. National Security Policy Since World War II is an American historian specializing in international relations, security studies, American foreign policy, and American diplomatic and military history. He is a Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at the Boston University Frederick S. * Bio form Common Dreams website.
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How We Can meet the Challenges of Authoritarianism
November 15, 2024 No Comments
This is not our first rodeo with authoritarianism. Americans have collectively risen to seemingly impossible challenges in the past, and we can do so again. By Maria J. Stephan Analysis