Prisoners of War

The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression has sparked a great reckoning. Barack Obama now argues that it represents a "failed philosophy," "the idea that if we give more and more to those with the most, prosperity will trickle down to everyone else." His broadscale indictment of the "era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington" plasters John McCain, a self described "foot soldier in the Reagan revolution, to his record, and exposes his recent cross dressing as a populist tribune.

Yet, the Iraq War, surely the worst foreign policy debacle at least since Vietnam, has had little effect in challenging the "failed philosophy" that an imperial America is the "indispensable nation" needed to police the globe. Even as Congress balked at the $700 billion bail out of Wall Street and Republicans filibustered against even a token $50 billion stimulus plan for Main Street, next year's $700 billion military budget was passed without a murmur.

Today in the New York Times, the Institute for America's Future which I co-direct published an "op ad" entitled Prisoners of War. It makes the simple point that we will be unable to put our nation back on track at home if we remain prisoners of war abroad.

For the ad and back materials, go here.

We are spending about $12 billion a month on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The latter will end costing $3 trillion. More troops are being dispatched to the former. We maintain an empire of over 700 bases across the world. Our navy polices the seven seas. We spend as much on our military as the rest of the world combined -- and that is apparently not enough. Both major party political candidates are committed to increasing the size of the military and the amount we will spend on it.

Yet the military has no answer to the major challenges we face to our security -- a globalized economy of increasing instability, the rise of India and China, increasing global indebtedness that can't be sustained, a growing dependence on foreign oil, catastrophic climate change and the accompanying resource struggles.

Even, as a study from the Rand Corporation, the Pentagon's own think thank notes, the declaration of a Global War on Terror has detracted from a sensible strategy to deal with al Qaeda and its allies. We've turned fanatics into warriors, inflating their importance and adding to their attraction. We've squandered lives and money in Iraq, alienating our allies, exhausting our military, and emboldening our adversaries. We've slighted the global intelligence sharing, financial pressure, and aggressive policing which are the core of a realistic strategy, and weakened the necessary public campaign to appeal to moderate Islam and isolate the suicidal zealots. When you carry only a hammer, as any carpenter would tell you, more and more things start looking like nails.

Just as the financial crisis calls into question the market fundamentalism of the last years, one would think the Iraq debacle would trigger a debate about our imperial policies and our distorted priorities. Sadly, the absence of a serious peace movement has left the cloistered world of our national security managers undisturbed. As we head into what surely will be an election that brings a sea change to our politics, we remain prisoners of war.

Comments

[Mason]

The past several weeks have been a wild roller coaster ride of shocking events. The event that shocked me the most is the failure of our representatives and senators in Congress to ask the following simple question. With our economy falling apart, how can our nation afford the wars in the Middle East, which are unlawful wars of aggression in violation of the Geneva Convention as well as unnecessary to defend our homeland, and bailout Wall Street?

If we only can afford one of these mega costly ventures, which one should we abandon? I consider this a rhetorical question because our first priority as a nation must always be to take care of business at home.

We do no have limitless financial resources. We certainly can print more money, but that isn't a solution because it will devalue our dollar to such an extent that it no longer will be the dominant world currency, foreign nations will exchange their dollars for more stable currencies like euros, we will experience hyper inflation at home, and our ability to borrow money from foreign nations will be severely compromised.

Haven't we reached the point where we must choose between paying for these wars and fixing our economy? If so, why isn't this choice front and center in our public debate.

[Spesabsquemetu]

I had to chuckle at notions made by McCain surrogates suggesting America become a leader in energy and technology, while our children are failing out of high school at rates that exceed the words CATASTROPHIC, while McCain prioritizes Big Oil Tax breaks, to the exclusion of anything remotely resembling an energy plan ( currently opposing one in the senate, because LUCRATIVE TAX BREAKS FOR THE OIL INDUSTRY ARE BEING LEFT OUT!)

Meanwhile, government leaders in this administration have the arrogance to tamper with government funded results on studies regarding FDA drugs (see the fantastic article posted by Huff Post today on this issue), climate concerns, and God only knows what else.

The madness directing this administration's failed course of action is almost as terrifying as the notion of a McCain/Palin administration following it.

This country begs for change.
We had better see substantial discussion and challenging questions pursued in the upcoming debates, or expect more devastation to America at the hands of special interests, and elected officials whose notion of "for the people, of the people, and by the people" begins with corporate interests, greed, and conflicts of interests and ends with the American people being the last on the list of considerations regarding "the future".

[CaptainStormfield]

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/09262008/watch.html

Andrew Bacevich. A must watch on the war state and the loss of our Republic.

[BuickBoy57]

Everyone should see this most lucid discourse on what we call the American Way of Life.

[grantlingel]

McCain's time in a POW camp does not qualify him to run this country. It just makes him a war hero with some sick thoughts harbored up top. There, I said it.. what of it?

http://grantlingel.blogspot.com

[SouthernBlueBelle]

No wonder the rest of the world hates us. We go around with our superiority and "We're Number 1" mentality and give no respect to any view other than our own.

[zerotimes10]

If you are lying or cheating. Please stop it. Forgiveness will surely follow. This starts at home with every single one of us. None of us are perfect but most of us, enough of us, know the difference between right and wrong. We sure know when it hurts and damages us.

"We cannot force those we want to forgive into accepting our forgiveness. They might not be able or willing to do so. They may not even know or feel that they have wounded us. We can only change ourselves. Forgiving others is first and foremost healing our own hearts.

Henri J.M. Nouwen

[iluvcodandwhitepointers]

Freemarket USA versus intervention USA Schiff versus Nariman Behravesh as Braodcast Australia and Asia last night -- if editor Huff allows --heres discussion--
"TONY JONES, , Connecticut is Peter Schiff, former advisor Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, and also the author of Crash Proof, which predicted the current financial crisis.

Boston is Nariman Behravesh, chief economist
Peter Schiff. You- opponent bailout. Are you thinking again
PETER SCHIFF, : In fact the market would have dropped .- isn't a bailout. Our Government is broke. It can't afford to bail out anybody. The way we have to raise the $US700 billion to buy up these bad mortgages, we have to go to the Chinese and the Japanese and borrow , economy deeper into debt.
Or Ben Bernanke print up money and destroy the value of the dollar. $US700 billion, that would have just been the tip of the iceberg; it would have cost are $2 or $3 trillion.

What's happening in America is the deflation of our bubble economy. And we've got to stop borrowing money from the rest of the world that we can't buy back to buy products we didn't make and we can't afford.

We need a serious recession, purge the economy restore a viable economy.
trying to avoid this crisis, bigger crisis destroy the value of the dollar, there's a global run on the dollar and that's going to send US interest rates into the stratosphere and consumer prices into the roof and we'll turn into Argentina or

[darcy]

Blame white men. Maybe they're insecure and need to be bullies; I don't know. But a huge percentage of them continue to consistently vote for hawks.

[iluvcodandwhitepointers]

not good at stats darcy , but is that a question of why in the melee we might --anybody-- see the other body-- getting the house with the mortgage -and therefore a call for a refusal to the congressman and his response or the reverse being the non getting of -- is their statistically or perceptually a relationship if you were agnostically doing some market research

[darcy]

Get real, you guys! What group do you think put the bush in office twice? I'm not sexist, ignorant, uneducated, or biased...I just call it as I see it.

[legalclubs]

Some of the most ruthless tyrants in history have been women and many have been non-white. Don't try to divide us into racial and gender camps, it's power that corrupts, not that any race or gender is apparently evil, stupid, or insecure as you suggest in your post. You might not see this due to your lack of understanding of history or events that occur outside the United States. I blame our poor public schools for your ignorance.

I'm certain that we have reached the point in this country where non-white individuals (i.e. Obama) and all genders (i.e. Hillary Clinton) can and will become President of the United States. Sadly, you will quickly learn that these individuals will inact policies in which you don't 100% agree and yes, they will even sometimes take us to war and sometimes you will disagree with their reasons. It will be a great day when all genders and all the races will be deemed equally incompentent to lead -- however, that is human nature and we don't have a better system. So your just going to have to live with it, even if another white man becomes president.

[Sundialsvc4]

Robert, change the word "cost" in the above posting to "profit."

You will be only touching the tip of the iceberg of an industry that happily sells weapons and materiel to BOTH sides of every conflict it can find, but even the numbers that you quote are enough.

$700 billion of (borrowed, of course...) PROFIT for industries which (mirable dictu!) are VERY, VERY closely tied to the Senators and Congressmen who vote for them!

This is what "Ike" Eisenhower was trying to warn us about in January of 1961. He described it as an insidious enemy different from everything the Republic had faced before. He said that only "an alert and knowledgeable citizenry" could defend against this Enemy Within.

Troy fell from the inside. Rome fell from the inside. And the United States, after about 250-or-so years of rather compressed but spectacular "history," will reveal itself to have been a Bubble ... and it, too, will fall from inside. As in all the other cases, the plutocrats who maneuvered themselves into these positions of power and influence betrayed their country -- and, themselves.

[iluvcodandwhitepointers]

War is economic and peace has its price . Before a national Australia and broadcast to Asia ABC Lateline brought together Peter Schiff --against and freemarket --and --Nariman Behravesh for government and part of of Global Insight
If u willallow I will post it here . Schiff in brief says that the package will ensure USA will turn into Zimbabwe and USA will have to borrow another trillion from China [Susan Schwab gave billions of USA labored gold to China] and therefore have China with 2 trillion in USA money and --they will be leaders by default and or USA dollar will be worthless [ no manufacturing ]

Nariman Behravesh [Global and gov] recognises in part this but says or indicates liquidity will prevent operation of the market "Let me put things in perspective. -, and then actually selling them when the markets stabilised. -ending a banking crisis. by refusing to do this, -to worsen this banking crisis.

Point number two: everyone focuses on the $US700 billion; -bogus number, -gross number; it's not a net number. The Government will sell assets eventually, so the net cost is only going to be about a $100 to $200 billion. everyone got caught up $US700 billion. -a nonsense number, not meaningful.

And then finally, If monetary stimulus core inflation, nothing's happened to wage inflation, or to the dollar. "

Schiff says buy buying overseas goods u are exporting your inflation- destroying your allies close or not

Editor if you allow I will post

[Ohg]

These are desperate time for America. This is truly one of the most important Presidential elections in our history. Understanding History can help us see the candidates in the light of consequences to actions. John McCain is a scary guy. .......................\
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/10/01/mccains-world-view-power-and-control/

[iluvcodandwhitepointers]

Do you believe what the political theorist Herbert McClosky [USA] says when he says the electorates ordinary members of the USA society are submerged in ideological babble of poorly informed and disagreeing opinions and that the political minority are and have more salient or "to the point " political ideas and their actions are connected to their beliefs versus the ordinary person. Would you agree that these minorities [active -- not minority by default ] are socialised by their activity exposed to liberal democratic and adoption of liberal democratic ideas as opposed to those who believe a passion for freedom tolerance and justice and other democratic values[ democracy is not freedom] springs spontaneousdly from the lower depths of the society and that the ordinary worker farmer etc is the natural host of democratic ideology

[JennyJay]

Today the Senate passed a $488 billion spending bill for the wars. If they want money so
much for the bailout - let them use that money.
Time to stop all the useless killing, and paying for Halliburton to get rich at our expense.

[ilander]

totally agree here...

btw : has halliburton now moved its headquarters to dubai ?

[iluvcodandwhitepointers]

editor i like your mention of peace and cooperation [even though I am no fan of the Bahai whom the peace style mangers use to pointy to cooperative peace strategies and participatuion adaptation]
The best editor Kenneth Dobleare who first published Dahls Plural and j curve of revolution and mass elite linkages in the book Power and Change in ther USA -- says in his intro"I think that to avoid structuring conclusions or perpetuating culture boundness , a definituion of politics must involve the widest frame of reference--must admit possibilities most americans would reject [today]--and make no assumptions on desirability or inevitability of any political system [though i would think Dobleare would not imagine as a perception thjat could occur-a TV show influencing a high judge to authenticate torture]
Power then plays a part. The Australian model is being scrutinised and vice versa by others in the USA in this melee.
The economist former Prime Minister of Australia [Paul Keating] broadcaster "ABC lateline business[posted soon there]" -- That the USA financial system is collapsing. USA banks unlike Australian banks do not trust one another -do not lend to one another have bad balance sheets to present --which he in Australia re corrected in 1991 recession "that had to occur" after USA-Calif intervention in 1960-70 saw banks misshandled-global]]--now this means simple borrowers who are also depositers cannot borrow. this "liquidity" or money flow had to be maintained [questioning USA ability] per 1billion permonth from Wall thus

[bonniewheeler]

A hearing was held on C-span in 2004 when Congressman Barney Frank and Democrats vehemently objected to evaluation of Freddie and Fannie by Republicans. One Democrat called it a 'lynching' and another asserted "why fix something that isn't broken"
Do you suppose the objections by Democrats to demand accountability at Fannie and Freddie had anything to do with this crisis?

bonniewheeler

[ilander]

great article, thanks.

i am german and as most europeans like to like the americans. but this seems to be impossible with the way america (or the persons representing america) acts in the global community now for quite a while.

as long as the current administration plays with the fears of the citizens there will be a reason to go to war. this has an impact on all of us.

probably a bit of topic (though i think everything is based on money today) for those interested in a view from outside your country :
http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,581517,00.html

[avogel]

My father left Germany in 1927. Because of this I am alive today. Americans have no understanding or experience when it comes to nation collapse. Americans after the Civil War understood, but given the poor understanding of history, that knowledge has degenerated into glorious myth. Americans today are going to find out what nation collapse is all about. The Russians, with their oil wealth, are going to get a big laugh. The military-industrial complex as it presently exists is parasitizing society and is certainly not sustainable, and really offers very little in the way of protection for us. However, it is great generator of huge profits and corruption.

[Organic-Guy]

I believe everything we now see, from the wars we're engaged in, the financial collapse, the marginalization of reason and thought replaced with bravatto, stupid, vapid politicians like Bush and Palin at the top of the ticket and fascist slogans is all part of a larger plan and it's being executed perfectly. All business plans should go so well. Whichever bill comes out of committee in the next fews days won't really matter. Both parties are in on this scheme to destroy the American economy. The wording will be different but the outcome will be the same. The next president, no matter who he is will have no money and no power except that granted by the corporations of the world.

[Marlyn]

"no power except that granted by the corporations of the world."

and that will be what it is today, for the USA to be the policemen of the world.

ENOUGH of this crap! Close the 700 bases and bring the troops home ... ALL of them. NO MORE WAR!