You've Been Conditioned for War

Was 'Imminent Threat' His Impeachment? Trump Reportedly Admitted Soleimani Killed to Appease GOP Senators

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted during a Fox News interview Thursday night that the administration doesn't know when or where the supposed "imminent" attacks were going to take place.

In response to the Journal's reporting, Sanders foreign policy adviser Matt Duss tweeted, "The 'imminent threat' was impeachment."

You should know first that war is a lie. Please read the book War is a Lie by David Swanson before enlisting in the military. The book is a thorough refutation of every major argument used to justify wars, drawing on evidence from numerous past wars, with a focus on those wars that have been defended as just and good. Recruiters start the lying because they have to meet the quotas. I was lied to by my recruiter and the lying by drill instructors, officers, and NCOs continued throughout my four years in the Army.

You should know that war is not a romantic adventure. You become part of a killing machine and are complicit in the killing of innocent civilians, the destruction of cities, the devastation of the environment even if you never pull a trigger or drop a bomb.

You should know that joining a service to straighten out your life and get money for college or vocational training quite possibly won’t work out that way. Thousands of soldiers and vets commit suicide every year, inflict violence on family members and are otherwise tormented by their experiences. It’s not worth it!

Zinn: Terrorism and War (limited time free ebook)

 miamizsun wrote:
 

or worse, immune to it.

 Red_Dragon wrote:

Even when led by a clown-in-chief...

 Isabeau wrote:
 

Yeah, there's money available for slaughter and destruction. The military-industrial complex requires that.

In every policy that could benefit Americans, it is asked "How Will We PAY for it?"
Why now that we have a Trillion Dollar deficit - thanks in no small part to the uber wealth tax cut,does no one ask: HOW WILL WE PAY FOR ANOTHER WAR?
I have a sneaky suspicion I will never see any of the Social Security I paid into...

Some people are saying...
Lies About Iran Killing US Troops in Iraq Are a Ploy to Justify War

Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, whose job is to round up international support for the Trump administration’s campaign of “maximum pressure” on Iran, presented the charge at a State Department press briefing on April 2. “I can announce today, based on declassified US military reports,” Hook said, “that Iran is responsible for the deaths of 608 American service members. This accounts for 17 percent of all deaths of US personnel in Iraq from 2003 to 2011.”

Navy Commander Sean Robertson followed up with an email to media outlets pushing that same line. When this writer asked Robertson for further clarification of the origins of that figure, however, he acknowledged that the Pentagon doesn’t have any study, documentation, or data to provide journalists that would support such a figure.

In fact, the myth that Tehran is responsible for killing over 600 US troops in the Iraq War is merely a new variant of a propaganda line that former Vice President Dick Cheney used to attempt to justify a war against Iran more than a decade ago. Reviewing the history of that earlier effort is necessary to understand why the new myth is a palpable lie.

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The U.S. has gone rogue, and Canada may be caught in the crossfire

 miamizsun wrote:
 

Agreed.  The US-sponsored War on Terrorism carries huge strategic risks and has already blown back against US interests.  The US kill ratio in the Mid-East is just phenomenal  (over 100:1?) and that will blow back even if most blow back victims to date have been in Europe or elsewhere in the world.

The War on Terrorism seemed tailored to dehumanizing and demonizing people in order to make it easier to kill innocent civilians.

That said, folks in uniform are not responsible for bad policy choices, and there is a broad interest in maintaining professional law-abiding behaviour and standards among the troops.  They are already at risk because of US Mid-East policy.  These pardons put them at further risk and provide justification for other nation states to commit war crimes.  

 miamizsun wrote: 
Just finished mine a few minutes ago. With as small mix of 2 different whiskeys.

 SeriousLee wrote: 
thx   

how about a peaceful cup of coffee?

kahlua optional

 miamizsun wrote: 
it's ok 

 westslope wrote: 

for me the real issue is illegitimate government sponsored war at all

all of the death, destruction and debt is couched politically as some sort virtuous violence or moral murder

or wait for it: aid (usually a large part of it is a fat credit to purchase weapons systems from our military industrial complex)

innocent human beings are being extinguished, which is without any doubt the worst human rights violation possible

and what do politicians see as a top priority?

it's disgusting

sorry for the rant

 westslope wrote:
 
“We are not going to apologize for America. We are going to stand up for America. No more apologies.”

 westslope wrote:
 

Just one of many dark sides to this buffoon. That's why we want him out - we are actually scared of what he may do. But we have an entire political party that has sold themselves to the highest bidder and refuse to recognize anything but their political futures. Thus the hearings. Its time Jethro and Cletus hear facts instead of Faux Spews conspiracies. They'll continue to deny and defend, but its getting harder and harder to do so.

Trump Clears Three Service Members in War Crimes Cases - NYT


Trump Betrays the Military
His intervention in decisions about war crimes undermines the moral standing of the armed forces.

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I read and hear a lot of weasel words about how patriotic white Americans support their armed forces.  Do they?  Why are these same people not rallying in the streets in opposition to these pardons? 

Do they have no understanding of how these pardons undermine US moral standing and ultimately the safety of US troops as well as civilians? 

I view these pardons as worse than the partisan political bribery/extortion Trump tried to pull off in the Ukraine.   This has to be one of the most America-hating, self-loathing executive decisions that Trump has made in his first mandate.  

The US and Britain face no existential threat. So why do their wars go on?

Why does no one mention the war? The most militaristic, belligerent and chauvinist country I know – and also love – is the US. People fly flags from every post and see “bad guys” under every bed. When the president, Donald Trump, vows to leave the Middle East he is condemned as a traitor even by his fans.

The second most belligerent is Britain, albeit less so. With America, it is continuing to fight the so-called “wars of 9/11”, 18 years after they began – battling in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, in Britain’s case covertly. There is not the remotest sign of “victory” in sight. Somehow they are not seen as wars, just the licensed killing of foreigners.

Turkish Proxies Appear to Be Using White Phosphorus in Syria

Photos of children show horrific burns caused by what looks like white phosphorus.

BY LARA SELIGMAN | OCTOBER 17, 2019, 6:21 PM


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This is not the first time that US-backed forces have deployed white phosphorous in Syria.  Israel used white phosphorous in the Gaza strip a few years ago.


This article contains photos:

'Dad stop the burning, I beg you': Horrifying footage reveals badly-burned Kurdish children in Syria amid claims Turkey is using banned weapons such as napalm and white phosphorus