ARE INTERNATIONAL WARS A RACKET?

 

By: Naveed Tajammal
(This is an exclusive article for pakpotpourri2)

Eric Arthur Blair, better known in literature as ,George Orwell had done some predictions when he drafted his book,’’1984’’ in 1947-48.It was published in 1949,George saw after the 2^nd world war a world divided in three major super-states, Oceania (Britain, South Africa, America & Polynesia(Pacific Ocean Islands),Eurasia (Continental Europe, and North Asia) . Lastly, East Asia (China, Japan, Korea &North India). Continuous wars, between these super states over a disputed area, which formed a ‘parrellogram’ from Tangier ( Morocco) to Brazzaville (Congo), in a straight line to tip of northern Australia ‘’Darwin’ and then to Hong Kong.

Eurasia did rise as did the Warsaw pact countries of Europe but they all took a nose dive after 1989.The fall of the Soviet Empire, East Asia, has yet to rise, only Oceania is in the world Arena. The Union Jack has collapsed its strategic sites as well of other empires since 1898 ( Treaty of Paris) have been annexed  by the sole super state The USA( The stars and stripes ) or Oceania of George Orwell, South Africa to collapsed with rise of Nelson Mandela.

What George Orwell had feared most was the creation of Totalitarian states, which keeps its people under constant mass surveillance, each transaction, communication, compiled, stored away, ready to be re- examined and used by the authority, whenever they wanted. And as go the figures and reports, only in the USA, an average citizen is caught on film nearly 200 times daily, in the Britain the mother of Democracy ,each citizen is filmed 300 times daily. The American National Data Base agency has the world’s largest data base.So, the Big brother is there, as envisaged by Orwell.

But here we have to pause and see the rise of ‘Oceania’ as the sole power, at the moment in time. And what somebody, who was instrumental in making it in the start has to say on this. The man, Major General  Smedley.D.Butler,(1881-1940). Until  1898 the USA did not have any territory outside the mainland of North America, and her national debt stood at one billion dollars, and by the end of the First World War in which USA jumped in for no rhyme or reason, it was 25 billion dollars. So the desire to acquire outside territory or ‘’Fiddling in International Affairs”, was the cause in the rise of the debt, as for very few this ‘’RACKET’ OF waging wars  is profitable business venture. It brings fancy profits, but the cost of war operations is always transferred to the people-who do not share the profits.

With these words General Butler, quotes from Senate Document # 259 of the 65^th Congress Report, on the Corporate Earnings, analysing the profits of 122 meat packers,153 cotton manufactures,299 garment makers,49 steel plants & 340 coal producers during the years of the first world war. Which are mind boggling but the space does not permit the details.

This is piece was written way back in 1933, but is still just as relevant. It is an excerpt from a speech by Major General Smedley Butler. Smedley Butler is one of only 19 people in the entire history of the US military to have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor twice. 

He writes:

“A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we’ll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

I wouldn’t go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

There isn’t a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its “finger men” to point out enemies, its “muscle men” to destroy enemies, its “brain men” to plan war preparations, and a “Big Boss” Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country’s most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909—1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents. “

Now kindly analyse the aftermath of 2^nd world war and the American ventures to date.

 (The writer has over 26 years of experience of research in historical investigation)