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Since when did the defense department need elaborate pretexts for their endless money pits?

by okareaman 5y ago

leesalminen 5y ago
See Iraq, as just one example. Remember Colin Powell’s charade at the UN?
- okareaman 5y ago
  That was a dumb pretext. Scott Ritter and others had debunked the weapons of mass destruction claim prior. Everyone knew George W. Bush was going to invade Iraq because Saddam had threatened to kill his father. He was going to finish the job daddy had failed to complete.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - thisiscorrect 5y ago
    "Everyone knew George W. Bush was going to invade Iraq because Saddam had threatened to kill his father. He was going to finish the job daddy had failed to complete." I suspect it was lobbying from AIPAC and from defense contractors that led the US into Iraq. Probably not personal vendettas by one man, even George Bush.
syshum 5y ago
Since they had to start competing with an ever growing demand by population for increasing social serivces like Unversal Healthcare, and UBI, combined with current social services and debt taking up over 50% of the federal budget. They see the writting on the wall, America can no longer fund its war machine unless there is an enemy, Russia / Cold War is played out even though they are still trying to beat that dead horse, China is not viewed as threat by most citizens as we get all of our cheap shit from them... Nope Aliens makes a perfect scare for the masses to accept increases in taxation and debt
- staticassertion 5y ago
  Aliens make the perfect scare? You think more people are afraid of aliens than terrorists?
  - syshum 5y ago
    I think they can use propaganda to ferment a greater fear yes. it is new and unknown. Their propaganda around "terrorists" is wearing thin. Today people are massively less fearful of the "big bad terrorist" then they were 10 years ago. They are less accepting of the military story that some goat farmer in a dessert is a "threat to national security" that needs a response by multi billion dollar weapons platforms So now they have two competing treks the classic external threat which was always other nations but is harder and harder to sell to the people these days so the external threat has to become VERY external Then you have the growing propaganda around internal threats, aka "Domestic Extremism" however it is very hard military make the case the American People are their enemy. The FBI sure, other paramilitary "law enforcement" sure, but that actual official military.. that is a sticky wicket. Though I from the recent report by Glenn Greenwald it seems maybe they are going to try that as well...

Since when did the defense department need elaborate pretexts for their endless money pits?

leesalminen 5y ago

See Iraq, as just one example. Remember Colin Powell’s charade at the UN?

okareaman 5y ago
That was a dumb pretext. Scott Ritter and others had debunked the weapons of mass destruction claim prior. Everyone knew George W. Bush was going to invade Iraq because Saddam had threatened to kill his father. He was going to finish the job daddy had failed to complete.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- thisiscorrect 5y ago
  "Everyone knew George W. Bush was going to invade Iraq because Saddam had threatened to kill his father. He was going to finish the job daddy had failed to complete." I suspect it was lobbying from AIPAC and from defense contractors that led the US into Iraq. Probably not personal vendettas by one man, even George Bush.

syshum 5y ago

Since they had to start competing with an ever growing demand by population for increasing social serivces like Unversal Healthcare, and UBI, combined with current social services and debt taking up over 50% of the federal budget. They see the writting on the wall, America can no longer fund its war machine unless there is an enemy, Russia / Cold War is played out even though they are still trying to beat that dead horse, China is not viewed as threat by most citizens as we get all of our cheap shit from them... Nope Aliens makes a perfect scare for the masses to accept increases in taxation and debt

staticassertion 5y ago
Aliens make the perfect scare? You think more people are afraid of aliens than terrorists?
- syshum 5y ago
  I think they can use propaganda to ferment a greater fear yes. it is new and unknown. Their propaganda around "terrorists" is wearing thin. Today people are massively less fearful of the "big bad terrorist" then they were 10 years ago. They are less accepting of the military story that some goat farmer in a dessert is a "threat to national security" that needs a response by multi billion dollar weapons platforms So now they have two competing treks the classic external threat which was always other nations but is harder and harder to sell to the people these days so the external threat has to become VERY external Then you have the growing propaganda around internal threats, aka "Domestic Extremism" however it is very hard military make the case the American People are their enemy. The FBI sure, other paramilitary "law enforcement" sure, but that actual official military.. that is a sticky wicket. Though I from the recent report by Glenn Greenwald it seems maybe they are going to try that as well...