jfuh
DP Veteran
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I start this thread with this quote from Eisenhower the night before he left office.
It almost seems like he was prophesizing what has happened to the US today. Nearly every instance is met with a military solution vs a diplomatic one or alternative means.
The US now more than ever is built so solidly on military industry that it does indeed seem that we are getting a little too trigger happy.
It's a well known fact by now that the current Bush Inc. had indeed thought of methods of going to war with Iraq since they got Bush as a candidate.
Let me make clear my stance. I have no problem whatsoever that we took out this scum bag of a dictator, what I do have an incredible problem with is the pretenses that we went to war in Iraq for were completely false and inaccurate, yet we were so thirsty to get our revenge for the 9/11 cowardly attacks that we gladly gave the Ok to proceed, as well as the go ahead with allowing the Patriot act to pass, and now today even turning an eye to giving up our civil liberties to unwarrented domestic eaves dropping.
In the time in which the world was facing a very real threat of being annihalted this former 5 star general turned president warns against the very danger of society and military being so intertwined with each other.A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction...
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
Please keep this thread clean, ie none of this "you corrupt republican/conservative/right", or "you cowardly democrat/left/liberal" nonesense. This really is an issue that both sides bear responsibility for and also have constructive arguments to present.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.
It almost seems like he was prophesizing what has happened to the US today. Nearly every instance is met with a military solution vs a diplomatic one or alternative means.
The US now more than ever is built so solidly on military industry that it does indeed seem that we are getting a little too trigger happy.
It's a well known fact by now that the current Bush Inc. had indeed thought of methods of going to war with Iraq since they got Bush as a candidate.
Let me make clear my stance. I have no problem whatsoever that we took out this scum bag of a dictator, what I do have an incredible problem with is the pretenses that we went to war in Iraq for were completely false and inaccurate, yet we were so thirsty to get our revenge for the 9/11 cowardly attacks that we gladly gave the Ok to proceed, as well as the go ahead with allowing the Patriot act to pass, and now today even turning an eye to giving up our civil liberties to unwarrented domestic eaves dropping.