War and--More War

The re-assertion of a "right" to unprovoked war, oh I'm sorry, "pre-emptive attacks," is frightening and disgusting on several levels.

First of all, as I argued in one of my first posts here, such war is illegal. (bottom of the archive page) It is a clear violation of both customary international law and the UN charter.

We also have a perfect example of what historian Barbara Tuchman defined as "folly"--the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interersts, despite the availability of feasible alternatives. This woodenheaded administration refuses to learn from its disastrous mistakes.

Then there is that little matter of beyond the defense contractors, what have we gotten for the $57 million A DAY we're spending?

It is also important to note that this conflict, and future reckless dalliances into places like Iran, unlike Viet Nam, are not set pieces of the larger controlling Cold War paradigm with a relatively static U.S.-U.S.S.R dynamic. These disasters alienate us from the world and weaken the country at a time of profound global political and economic change. It is only a slight exaggeration at most to suggest that this reckless criminal incompetence has imperiled the very future of the republic. As described by Paul Kennedy in The Rise and Fall of Great Powers, declining powers often spend excessively on the military as economic security lessens, and military adventuring leads to an almost inevitable decline through 'imperial overstretch.'