U.S. Marines depart a checkpoint and patrol back to Forward Operating Base Geronimo, Afghanistan, May 30, 2010. The Marines are assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Mark Fayloga
William Astore, The Nation/Tom Dispatch: 7 Reasons Why America’s Wars Aren’t Ending Anytime Soon
How never-ending war became—and will stay—the new normal.
WNU Editor: This is a good summary on the American left's point of view on why is America at war .... and I confess that I always read these commentaries to better understand their reasoning/explanation on why President Obama .... the most "left-wing" President in U.S. history and one who has always believed philosophically that America has been a problem rather than a solution to many of the world's conflicts .... has personally ordered and engaged U.S. forces in more countries than any of his immediate predecessors. Saying (as William Astore does in this post) .... Since his election in 2008, Barack Obama has done little to alter the course set by his predecessors. He, too, has chosen not to challenge Washington’s prevailing catechism of war. .... is not a good enough explanation .... because President Obama has done far more than just that.
I do not expect an answer .... because the answer is not appealing nor easy to explain. Managing this blog has taught me that the world is a very messy place where ethnic/sectarian/religious/political conflicts and unrest are the norm rather than the exception. The U.S. .... for better or worse .... is a part of this global community, and it has defined its strategic interests based on economics coupled with a determination to also form alliances and partnerships with nations that share its political/economic/social points of view or who have expressed a willingness to one day accept the U.S. view of the world. Sometimes these commitments result in committing to a war .... and sometimes (quoting Trotsky) war decides to come to America. But these are the consequences and responsibilities of being a global power .... and since the Second World War the American people have accepted that role.
5 comments:
Since Clinton, the orientation of Politicians has been broken down into five orientations,
Social,
Economic,
Foreign Policy,
legally,
Environment,
Socially, Obama is a centerist, his position on for example, Gay Rights, simply mirrors the majority of the US, and he follows, he does not lead. He's no JFK, no LBJ, he's not even a Nixon or a Ford.
On economic policy, he's neo-liberal, ( right) and while he talks a game about economic justice, he gave the money to the banks, not the homeowners, and no bankers have gone to jail, but Occupy has.
His foreign policy is Reagan/Bush in the places neo-cons have already destroyed, and neo-con in the places not get broken, so far right.
Legally, well his take on rights and Government Powers, is what Nixon would have done, if he could have gotten away with.
Environmentally, he's no Nixon, he's closer to Reagan/Bush, with a lot of quiet Bush II, thrown in.
But it's funny how saying the right words in speeches leads to a perception, not existing in reality.
Aye, a very true assessment of Obama.
Thank you Jay for your input. I think President Obama will disagree with your analysis. :)
As to what do I think .... on the domestic level I do believe he is sincere in his goal to transform America into his vision of where he wants to see the country when he leaves office. I also think he is aware that to change the political/social/and economic culture of America it will take generations .... but you have to start somewhere and he has done exactly that .... positioning the country via through "Obamacare" (18% of the economy) and open borders (thereby accelerating the social/demographic makeup of the country). I think he see this as his two signature accomplishments on the domestic scene .... and it is true .... they will be impacting the U.S. long after we are all gone.
Legally .... as the Edward Snowden revelations have revealed .... we are now entering a new and unique era. Governments have always spied on us before .... but not at this level which makes this entire issue unprecedented. I had always hoped (even before Edward Snowden) that he would pull back the growth of the surveillance state .... but instead he has decided to accelerate it in the other direction.
On the foreign policy/war issue .... in my opinion this has been a big disappointment and one that can severely impact us in the future. There is going to be blow-back against the United States one day for all the drone strikes, wars and conflicts that it is now involved in .... wars and conflicts that should not be happening today if the proper strategic planning and thinking was applied. My guess is that for President Obama this was not a priority .... why should he care about changing Afghanistan while the bigger prize is changing the U.S..
President Obama has two years left in his term .... my prediction is that he is no lame duck .... he is going to continue to push his vision of America whether the Congress (and the people) agree with him or not.
WNU Editor,
That Obama is viewed as being " left", is an example of how far right, median politics in the West has moved since Thatcher/Reagan.
Obamacare, is not Medicare, or single payer, and has been a major boost to the bottom lines of the US "Health" Industry. Obamacare, is actually the Republican Counter to Bill Clinton's proposed HealthCare Plan, as devised by Newt Gingrich.
Open Borders, unless you mean the TPP FTA, is just Reagan's Amnesty, the practical realization that once they are there, working, paying taxes, you might as well make them citizens, and yet, under Obama, ICE detentions and deportations are up 82%.
Obama talks left, hits far right, and the biggest effect domestically that his Presidency, and Hillary's Cantidacy will have, is the abandonment of the Democratic Party by the economic, legal, foreign policy and environmental left.
Obama came into Office with a solid mandate to fix the broken economy, and fix the broken Wars. He did neither, instead, he will be viewed in history as the President who presided over the Death of the Middle Class, and the guy who blew up the Cold War world.
And I thought that the Republicans were at war with their base. :)
President Obama will be remembered for a lot of things .... but your last sentence ....
.... "Obama came into Office with a solid mandate to fix the broken economy, and fix the broken Wars. He did neither, instead, he will be viewed in history as the President who presided over the Death of the Middle Class, and the guy who blew up the Cold War world".
I could not have said it any better.
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