Listen now (17 min) | The coterie of neocons and liberal interventionists who orchestrated two decades of military fiascos in the Middle East and who have never been held to account are now stoking a war with Russia.
Maybe because I’m older and was part of the anti Vietnam War protests, I clearly see the repeating pattern of justification for military action. I’ve learned not to believe what is being said by our government. In fact, studying wars prior to Vietnam, there are examples of the manipulation of the public to support our participation in military actions. I wish more people could spend time examining the past, which would bring current events into perspective.
Citizens were uninformed and unconcerned about Yemen, Libya and Syria. They were just informed about the fate of women in Afghanistan, after the departure of American troops and the return of the Talibans. And they thought that the million Irak citizens were killed on the basis of mistaken evaluations about the existence of WMD and the role of Saddam Hussein in 9/11, and not on the basis of outright lies. So they were also uninformed and unconcerned about the progressive encirclement of Russia by NATO, the presence of soldiers, military bases and weapons getting closer and closer to the Russian borders, the withdrawal of the IMF Treaty, the existence of an internal war leading to 14 000 deaths in the Donbass region, the failure of implementing the 2015 Minsk agreements, the important role of the extreme right in the army and the numerous warnings concerning the inclusion of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO. But when the invasion of Ukraine by Russia took place, suddenly everyone was «informed» and «concerned» and people thought that it was the «moral duty» of USA to intervene. They did not realize that they were puppets in the hands of pimp warriors.
You mentioned that the neocons who pushed us into these wars have never worn a military uniform. I used to say that until I researched for my book 6 years ago. Then, I learned that many of these chicken-hawk-war-monger neocons did wear the military uniform of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). So, I have modified my statement that these folks and their relatives have never worn a US military uniform.
The one neocon assigned to our prewar oil team at the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2003 was my first exposure to one of these characters. He was the ONLY team member who refused to volunteer for Iraq. He remained at the Pentagon as the "Iraq Oil Expert." To my knowledge, he has never been to Iraq and his best oil experience before our planning team was changing the oil in his car. After many attempts to recruit him to come to Iraq, he finally admitted to me in 2004 that he was afraid he would get killed.
We learned in 2005 after I was sent a 1989 St Louis Post article from my CIA oil contact that this guy left the US in 1989 to do two years in the IDF followed by a career in the Israeli Foreign Service. My CIA contact told me that 98% of Israel's Foreign Service is Mossad. Most patriotic Americans would ask the question - How does an Israeli Mossad asset get a Top Secret SCI clearance and assigned to the Pentagon to develop our country's Middle East policies???
This neocon is currently the CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security (JINSA), located a few blocks from the White House. He continues to do his mission of trying to get American resources engaged in more military Middle East wars and anywhere else that helps his country.
When a person sells out there soul then all they can worship is a gross externalization
In the manipulation of the material energy that inevitably leds to a world that values most physical domination. Thanks to Chris Hedges and others we can hear the truth.
All of this is true, we know the brute and evil history of American expansionism, colonialism, the 800 military bases around the world not to mention the secret ones, the bullying, the racism. And above all we know capitalism is a bankrupt system which must be abandoned (along with patriarchy, Chris, you don't mention that much). BUT -- Putin is a gangster, a morally corrupt monster. He murders innocent people with impunity, just as he did in Chechnya and in Syria. Two wrongs don't make a right! Where's your spiritual side, Chris? Without seeing that darkness depends on an adversary forevermore you're simply indulging in more knee-jerk reactivity. We humans are at a stage in evolution where we need more than that!
The Iraq war occurred at a time when Hussein was conducting the Kurdish Genocide. This was portrayed in the 2004 film Turtles Can Fly. Some hoped to end the genocide through war. The US conduct of the war proved otherwise. Some could now make the case for NATO engagement in Ukraine, rather than the current proxy war. However such an engagement doesn’t seem to meet conditions for war in the racist Neocon American think tanks. How will they try to twist the narrative to make Russians into non-whites?
Maybe because I’m older and was part of the anti Vietnam War protests, I clearly see the repeating pattern of justification for military action. I’ve learned not to believe what is being said by our government. In fact, studying wars prior to Vietnam, there are examples of the manipulation of the public to support our participation in military actions. I wish more people could spend time examining the past, which would bring current events into perspective.
Citizens were uninformed and unconcerned about Yemen, Libya and Syria. They were just informed about the fate of women in Afghanistan, after the departure of American troops and the return of the Talibans. And they thought that the million Irak citizens were killed on the basis of mistaken evaluations about the existence of WMD and the role of Saddam Hussein in 9/11, and not on the basis of outright lies. So they were also uninformed and unconcerned about the progressive encirclement of Russia by NATO, the presence of soldiers, military bases and weapons getting closer and closer to the Russian borders, the withdrawal of the IMF Treaty, the existence of an internal war leading to 14 000 deaths in the Donbass region, the failure of implementing the 2015 Minsk agreements, the important role of the extreme right in the army and the numerous warnings concerning the inclusion of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO. But when the invasion of Ukraine by Russia took place, suddenly everyone was «informed» and «concerned» and people thought that it was the «moral duty» of USA to intervene. They did not realize that they were puppets in the hands of pimp warriors.
Great article. Thank you for standing up to the madness.
You mentioned that the neocons who pushed us into these wars have never worn a military uniform. I used to say that until I researched for my book 6 years ago. Then, I learned that many of these chicken-hawk-war-monger neocons did wear the military uniform of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). So, I have modified my statement that these folks and their relatives have never worn a US military uniform.
The one neocon assigned to our prewar oil team at the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2003 was my first exposure to one of these characters. He was the ONLY team member who refused to volunteer for Iraq. He remained at the Pentagon as the "Iraq Oil Expert." To my knowledge, he has never been to Iraq and his best oil experience before our planning team was changing the oil in his car. After many attempts to recruit him to come to Iraq, he finally admitted to me in 2004 that he was afraid he would get killed.
We learned in 2005 after I was sent a 1989 St Louis Post article from my CIA oil contact that this guy left the US in 1989 to do two years in the IDF followed by a career in the Israeli Foreign Service. My CIA contact told me that 98% of Israel's Foreign Service is Mossad. Most patriotic Americans would ask the question - How does an Israeli Mossad asset get a Top Secret SCI clearance and assigned to the Pentagon to develop our country's Middle East policies???
This neocon is currently the CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security (JINSA), located a few blocks from the White House. He continues to do his mission of trying to get American resources engaged in more military Middle East wars and anywhere else that helps his country.
I always look forward to The Chris Hedges Report for the truth in the geopolitical arena.
#RenewableEnergyNow... for Peace Lights and Life on this very small Planet
America is control by a ruling elite of money grabbers. We are a puppet of a certain Nation.
"Can't see the Forest for the Trees" translates politically in 2022 into
"Can't see the Empire for the Issues & Money"
When a person sells out there soul then all they can worship is a gross externalization
In the manipulation of the material energy that inevitably leds to a world that values most physical domination. Thanks to Chris Hedges and others we can hear the truth.
This is the best analysis I’ve heard of the ideology and idiocy of the elite warmongers who control US foreign policy. Thanks, Chris!
All of this is true, we know the brute and evil history of American expansionism, colonialism, the 800 military bases around the world not to mention the secret ones, the bullying, the racism. And above all we know capitalism is a bankrupt system which must be abandoned (along with patriarchy, Chris, you don't mention that much). BUT -- Putin is a gangster, a morally corrupt monster. He murders innocent people with impunity, just as he did in Chechnya and in Syria. Two wrongs don't make a right! Where's your spiritual side, Chris? Without seeing that darkness depends on an adversary forevermore you're simply indulging in more knee-jerk reactivity. We humans are at a stage in evolution where we need more than that!
#RenewableEnergyNow... for Peace Lights and Life on this very small Planet
Wow!
The Iraq war occurred at a time when Hussein was conducting the Kurdish Genocide. This was portrayed in the 2004 film Turtles Can Fly. Some hoped to end the genocide through war. The US conduct of the war proved otherwise. Some could now make the case for NATO engagement in Ukraine, rather than the current proxy war. However such an engagement doesn’t seem to meet conditions for war in the racist Neocon American think tanks. How will they try to twist the narrative to make Russians into non-whites?
spot on!
Interesting article, as usual. Thanks Chris Hedges 👍