The Last of the Neocons…?

The Last of the Neocons…?

“I never doubted Obama’s support for the troops, only his support for their mission,” Gates writes.

By J.M. Hamilton (1-12-14)

Before Mr. Gates, and his new book, Duty, becomes a footnote in history, we should take a moment to recognize the hubris surrounding a passing tribe of faux-warriors, known as the neocons.  They have not gone gently into that good night, and arguably have helped bankrupt the nation in two pointless nation building exercises, during the last decade:  Iraq and Afghanistan.  With thousands of U.S. war dead, and trillions in U.S. dollars wasted, the neocons still believe that America should rule the world, and that there is no problem on earth that can’t be solved with a predator drone, by spying on America and the world, or an amphibious assault.  The neocon thought process can be best characterized as:  shoot and spy first, and think of an exit strategy later, but only after a long and costly nation building exercise fails, yet again. 

It appears completely lost on neocons, the ability to learn from history and prior failed nation building exercises, such as Vietnam.  Then again, the neocon – wrapped in the flag and patriotic language – really aren’t about spreading democracy, freedom and liberation, or even protecting America; but rather, I am absolutely convinced, many of this tribe are more interested in seeing the stock value of the defense industry, like Halliburton, soar. 

Why else would they have to lie, repeatedly, to drag this country into war, again and again.

I’ve always had a special empathy for the men and women who serve this country; the demographics on the enlisted ranks would undoubtedly show that many of our troops come from very humble means and beginnings, much like my father.  My dad joined the U.S.A.F.’ enlisted ranks, as America entered into Vietnam.  It was his way of avoiding the draft, by joining the branch of the military least likely to see combat.  He rose up through the enlisted ranks, obtained a college degree through the GI bill, went to officers training school, and rose up through the officer ranks all over again, obtaining the rank of colonel before retiring.  That Wisconsin farm boy did all right for himself.  Always very frugal and generally good with investments, he died a paper millionaire in 2001, at the age of 58.  Dad, of Prussian patrimony, dressed up well in public and on the base, but in private, was a little high strung.  I guess thirty-five years of active duty service – during the height of the cold-war - will put an edge on just about any soldier. 

Former Secretary of Defense, Mr. Gates, was often portrayed as the model of civility, but in his new book he explodes and rages at President Obama for his failure to believe in the war in Afghanistan, and in particular, the parade of cheerleaders for that war, known at the joint chiefs and the respective heads of command for those two wars.  Seems that President Obama has read his history, and apparently knows that dealing with a highly corrupt regime in Afghanistan, in a narco-terrorist state, is going to end very badly for America.  Afghanistan is known as the graveyard of empires, just ask the British, or more recently, the Russians.

Living under my dad’s command for the first 21 years of my life, like many military brats, I felt like – to a far lesser degree - I served, too.  For while I remember many aspects of my childhood fondly, underneath the veneer of the American dream was some dysfunction… not unlike the military industrial and intelligence complex (MIIC) today.  The MIIC, and our intelligence community, with redundant branches, redundant weapons systems and departments, billions in cost over runs, outdated weapons systems geared for the last war, and always conveniently dubious accounting, consumes half the Federal budget’s discretionary spending.  In fact, at their height, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan grew so expensive that their budget went offline or outside the U.S. Federal budget. (Note: The Pentagon has not been audited accurately in two decades.)

And if a President Romney had had his way, like the locusts in private equity, the MIIC budget would have consumed even more.

Fortunately for the men and women who serve, and all Americans, neocons, like Mr. Gates, and an adventurist foreign policy, much like the dinosaur, seems to be a passing thing.  Liz Cheney and her recent political campaign provides us with another example.  Like her famous father, Ms. Cheney campaigned in the Wyoming U.S. Senate race, among other things, for greater military spending, more failed nation building, and unlike her famous father - trashed her lesbian-sister; and then, quietly withdrew this week from her race, now that the writing was on the wall.  Her campaign was doomed.

Ms. Cheney, Mr. Gates, nor the neocons, however, never mentioned the direct counterpoint to their guns and butter trade off: which is the U.S. spends more than the G-20 combined on defense and intel, and one in four U.S. children are born into poverty.  And the nation is fed up and war weary.  Neocons also conveniently, fail to mention that the only thing that is keeping this country afloat, and her creditors at bay, is the Federal Reserve, which has been printing $85 billion a month (to pay for the MIC and the NSA, and so as to cover the costs of our nation’s debt service load).  Fortunately, the lessons Mr. Gates and the neocons taught us have been hammered home, and at least for another generation, it looks like we’ll follow the admonishment of President Washington in his farewell address to the nation: Beware of foreign entanglements.

Far greater lessons, however, are also on full display.  The first being that war is big business.  Ask private equity’s Carlyle group, who has a large financial interest in making sure that the NSA continues to spy on Americans.  To insure that America stays on a war footing, and the American government continues to operate in private equity’s interests, that of raping and pillaging the American dream, PE is now buying out the military brass, and apparently, the U.S. government.  The second lesson is that the U.S. acts as the world’s policeman, not to protect America, but to protect trade routes and multi-national’s economic interests throughout the world.  Ask former German President, Horst Kohler.  If the MIIC was really about protecting America and her borders, it could do so on a far smaller budget than it presently consumes, but that wouldn’t prove profitable to Halliburton, Carlyle, and McDonnell Douglas, et al.

And the third and final lesson is that until the costs of war, nation building, and policing the world, are spread among it’s true beneficiaries, U.S. citizens will find themselves drawn into endless conflicts.  Until Sovereign nations – often oil rich monarchies, and multi-nationals – many of whom have made record profits, recently, and have mountains of cash on their balance sheets – pay for war, instead of U.S. taxpayers, than there will always be cheerleaders and neocons advocating for war.  Those cheerleaders will often be: the MIIC itself; politicians – many of whom have never seen combat; sovereign nations- with nothing at stake; and commercial interests- who often make it part of their fiduciary responsibility to avoid paying taxes.

The irony in all this... is that most neocons hail from the party of Reagan and Eisenhower.  Mr. Reagan who defeated the Soviet Union w/out ever firing a shot in anger, and President Eisenhower, who originally warned the nation about the MIIC.

President Obama, to his credit, is not buying what the cheerleaders, Mr. Gates and the neocons, are selling, and has not engaged the U.S. militarily in the world’s latest debacle, Syria.  Perhaps the lessons America has learned over time will stick?  And the nation will listen to another Founding father’s admonishment: 

"Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few."

 - President Madison

But who am I kidding, jingoist and war profiteers will always be around.  For as Plato was said to observe, “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2014