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

[kellygrrrl]

anyone else catch Taxi to the Darkside last night on HBO?

I had nightmares

[ErnestineBass]

After reading the reviews, I'm not sure I could take it.

I am so ashamed of what's been done by some of our military in the name of "democracy".

[noneIn2008]

Yet, you still see ads calling for action today in Darfur? We will not learn.

[sisterdebmac]

Yep. The only thing America exports now is soldiers and mercenaries.

[Americatortures]

And weapons..w­e're # 1 in that area in all the world!!

[Bluebloodsbastardson]

The Bush Family has to eat ya know.....

[sclucie]

Are you crazy? Russia and the former members of the Soviet Union own weapon sales.

[clearpepsi]

It's good that it's being brought up and thank you; working for peace/educ­ation/heal­th/justice often feels like trying to sweep back the ocean - challenging the need, effectiveness and common sense of putting so much of our blood, energy and resources into the military isn't ever going to be easy - people are often too scared. I can't help but think of the restrictions and intimidation that protesters now have to go through in order to get heard. (ie: 08 national convention protest compounds, don't taz me bro., etc...) It's obvious that this national tendency limits and harms our future and makes use weaker in the long run. It's not likely we will see any sort of tempering of tendency in the near future, but as with most issues related to social justice it is our obligation to lead by example and pick up the broom for our first push against the ocean.

[YankeeYahoo]

"Dictators organize from the top down, democracies from the bottom up"
Herbert H. Hoover (R) President, 1929-1933

[HHvdB]

Perhaps the STRATEGY is preserving the loopholes of corruption and the TACTIC is the creation of an economic crisis in order that the Republicans "solve" the problem and win the race OR make sure the coffers are full in the event that they lose.

[Yasmine]

MR BOROSAGE..­..........­..........­...your post is even better than the previous one.
The REPUBLICAN philosophy of Governing both on the DOMESTIC FRONT AND IN FOREIGN POLICY really started with Reagan. with a great success until the breakup of the SOVIET UNION and The WORKFARE policy which was necessary.

But with the advent of the NEO-cons in 2000 a new IDEOLOGY seems to have entered the political arena in Foreign Policy. IT HAS DESTROYED AMERCA' S PRESTIGE in the world

NOW, AS THE FINANCIAL CRISIS HAS PROVED beyond a shadow of a doubt, the TOTALITARIAN FREE MARKET Philosphy and the idea that the GOVERMENT is the problem is DYING in front of our eyes,
as OBAMA says the VERDICT...­..........­..........­......is in, and the Totalitarian ideology OUT

[mgbgt95]

In order to move up the ranks in the military, it is required to write a research paper for each rank. As Colin Powell moved into the rank of general, his thesis was titled "The 2012military coup".
The military,p­olitical,n­ational,fi­nancial debacles of the past 8yrs has left a power vacuum in DC. As Society talks about more discipline in Congress & in the volatile money markets, the Pentagon is speaking volumes by their silence.
They are thinking that they are the only ones to have the discipline to restore order.
Should the Pentagon issue a statement?
Will it spook everyone even more? Does Bush have yet another blunder in him?

[Nisey01]

So sad that McCain choose to make this a political escapade and calls himself a maverick when he is diligently adhering to the 700 billion to take residency in the big pockets and not the little pockets. He calls himself a maverick and claims to be concerned with the American people's concerns, yet he won't even stand up to the big dogs and seek their aid to support the little people now that the money is available. Obama on the other hand have choose to keep a low political profile in this matter and have been seeking aid for all to be incoorperated should the funds actually come available. This goes to show that Obama is true to the American people and wants the best for all. Obama in that action displays true leadership and is a great man and one that would make good and sound judgement for all. Last but not least, in my true opinion this entire 700 billion dollar matter seems to be so debatable and controversial to me because it is as though the people in charge hates the fact that Obama is winning and they wants to make it hard for him if he does with this money issue, but trust, Obama will be fine and those same people are going to harm themselves and their future generations to come. You can't hurt (Obama) that which is meant to be. President Barack Obama for the United States of America. God Bless America!

[Mr Grey]

The U.S. needs to wake up to the fact the cost of war and supporting a military force is prohibitive. Weapon systems are always way over budget. The DOD has some 737 overseas bases with 2,500,000 U.S. personnel serving across the globe. That does not include "facilities provided by other nations at foreign locations". Areas like Iraq and Afghanistan. We are powerful indeed. But, do we need it?

Time after time diplomacy is half-hearted and or given up before it has a chance to work. Food, health and infrastructure aid programs are not supported. Millions, now trillions for defense, but not once cent for tribute! The cost of our defense spending is like a cancer, it is eating us alive.

It is time for a new direction. Time for a new way of thinking about what America is and where we need to go. It not a matter of guns or butter. It is a time for more butter and less guns. Time after time we have seen the failure of the gun to solve problems. Iraq is just the latest example. The last war always seems to set us up for the next war. Time to get out of that pyrrhic circle. We know war doesn't work, so why not try something new. We need to grow up a nation and world leader to lead the world to a new, better and more peaceful way. The possibilities are endless.

[blessinggirl]

Thank you for your article. I think you should add that there is an unknown defense appropriation--it is classified--and funds "covert operations, materiel, equipment and spies." The "spook" budget could raise the actual defense outlay to one trillion dollars. Americans do not ask what or why. Politicians can't bring it up. It is a scandal, enriching Fortune 50 corporations and oil companies, while miniscule measures for 911 first responders, child health, foreclosure assistance, infrastructure improvement, etc., etc., just gets killed.

[oldfart1]

Looking at the absurd multiple rationales that have been put forward to justify sending and keeping an American Army in the Near East, one is completely puzzled. Why?

(1) It is like Vietnam, it just keeps going because Bush doesn't want to lose a war - but which war? It keeps changing.

(2) Bush somehow thinks we are gaining control of Iraq's oil, but this goal has receded every time we have even approached it, and it is now clear it will always be out of reach, except in the imaginations of professional militarists

(3) The war is being used to justify the perpetuation of the military-industrial complex that Ike warned us about.

[Nisey01]

The real problem in my opinion is that what goes around comes back around. All these years of the middle class paving the way for the upper class has come back around to haunt them and now they have the audacity to not want to incoorperate a plan in the aid for the middle class now that the money is being offered. Until we turn from our evil ways, we will suffer even more now and throughout generations to come unless we scratch each other's backs. Other countries abroad are looking at us with no respect because we were once the top dog and now we are beginnining to look like a third world country. Where is the LOVE America, where is it?How can we lead anybody if we can't lead ourselves, come America, I know we are better than that?

[Lyndependent]

Good Lord! We have fences to mend... (Being a real Iowa Farm Girl, I can say that)...

[omop]

180 military bases scattered around the globe. 14 are either under construction or completed in Iraq,
A cadre of US troops are now in Israel. over 1500,000 in Iraq and almost 70,000 in afghanistan.

The neocons promised a 6 months cakewalk into Iraq several years ago. Iraqi oil was going to pay for our regime change. Prof. Stiglitz in his study has determined that the costs of our desire to make the world safe for Israel and in our image has cost over $3 trillion dollars.

And no one expected that all thse adventures were to have an impact on our economy?

Who is fooling who here? The economic quagmire we are in at this time began when lies led to one bad decision and followed by a host of bad decisions.

This $700 billion bailout is another one of those infantile policies that claimed that Saddam Hussein had nuclear bombs and was ready to drop em on Israel and Osam Ben Laden was going to be captured dead or alive.

Seeing what we have done to our nation. and society must be toasted everynight in many of the caves in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

[SeanOcali]

No national politician can advocate a decrease in military spending. What has to happen is that the spending itself is allocated differently.

I don't see why the national defense budget funds can't be used to help provide energy independence to this country. In the interest of national security, of course.

[Danny]

shelters for the homeless and soup kitchens, too ...