militarism

This essay of mine was recently included in a collection by the magazine Mother Jones called "Mission Creep: US Military Presence Worldwide."

What impresses about the sprawl of US bases and its reconstitution since 2001 is the lack of accountability. The US military presence overseas serves as an implicit threat of intervention to host countries and neighbors, and so enables the United States to defy international law and other obligations to the global community. The bases are also themselves unaccountable, especially as polluters, purveyors of sexual violence, and sites for torture. For most nations, it is an exercise in frustration to use political, diplomatic, or judicial channels to address the United States' abuses or extralegal demands, because Washington's military stands ready for aggression.

Today's Los Angeles Times published an editorial titled "Bogota's Bad Apples: Colombia's U.S.-backed military has rebels on the run. But it's also linked to a rise in civilian killings." The editorial cites research by our office at FOR showing U.S. approval and assistance to Colombian army units who are linked to extrajudicial killings in the country. Here is the editorial:

Conscientious Objection and Counter-Recruitment in the U.S.

All across the country, young people are standing up and saying “NO” to military recruiters in their high schools and on their college campuses. Communities are mobilizing to create alternative jobs and find positive opportunities outside of the military. Youth in the military and “civilian” youth are defining themselves as conscientious objectors – those who refuse to fight what they deem as unjust and unnecessary wars.

I generally do not start the day with a newspaper in my hand, but travels and hotels can occasion such moments. Thursday’s USA Today headline was as bold as the banner on the aircraft carrier that announced, prematurely, closure to the Iraq invasions in 2003. The Iraqi government will buy $3 billion of US weapons and equipment: Humvees, 40,000 – 60,000 M-16 rifles, aircraft and helicopters. Half of the purchases have already been made. “Give it another five, six or eight years and you could be talking about deals that put the Saudis to shame,” one U.S. official was quoted as saying. Enough said.

Have you heard about the New York Times' report on the Pentagon's use of retired military men with ties to defense contractors as seemingly-impartial public speakers on military policy? While I was never surprised to find that many former military leaders would support continued violence and occupation, this investigation uncovers a much more insidious connection. In return for their acting as ready-to-quote "military analysts" who would parrot administration talking points, these men and the contractors they represent gained increased access to military people and information beneficial to their own bottom lines.

In some towns, the activities of military commands that manage nuclear weapons is a subject of downward glances and furtive conversation. In Omaha, Nebraska, according to Tim Rinne, director of Nebraskans for Peace, it's a matter of celebration. There, Offut Air Force Base house Strategic Command (STRATCOM), the place where George W. Bush landed on September 11 when he was reportedly hiding from suspected attackers.

The January 20th edition of the New York Times carried an Op-Ed piece by a staff member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the Iranian Small Boats issue. A colleague asks if I think they are a problem, which prompts these thoughts.

I think the pattern is clear. We take preemptive measures to put our offensive forces directly in the face the defensive armies of our defined enemies (i.e. we have defined them as enemies – “Axis of Evil” speeches etc.). The acts are intended and serve effectively as provocation; they elicit the intended response of stirring those defensive forces into a “media” captured and disseminated story. (I.e. we force them to acknowledge our presence understanding that their internal politics require a response). We then prevaricate, labeling the response as an action initiated by them, even apparently by willingly manipulating the facts and reports, to justify the prospect of a still more aggressive action by our forces, to increase the support of a largely ignorant US audience, and further aggravating the situation within the other side by virtue of the self-evident lies to begin with. The path to prevention is the same here as it is anywhere else. Withdraw our troops and equipment from the field. Allow Iraq and Iran to negotiate their border in this case. Use the international waterway for commercial purposes that benefit all parties. Let regional players monitor the safety of passage.

Being in the midst of a large community of people in a new place leads to a cascade of images and impressions I would not likely experience in a place that was more familiar. This is my first visit to Ft. Benning for the School of Americas Watch Vigil and it is very rich in such images and impressions.

The gathering and demonstration area is a fenced street, Ft. Benning Blvd, about 100 tables long from the last intersection to the official gate of the Fort. It has orange barricades at the public end of the street, eight foot high chain-link fence along both sides of the street, with police men and women outside the fences in clusters and individually for much of its length, and then a layer of three gates and fencing at the entrance to the Fort. The construct is of a cattle shute.

This weekend is the annual protest and vigil in Fort Benning, Georgia against the School of Americas (recently renamed to "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation"). Many of our colleagues from FOR will be there, and I hope to get them to post some updates here on the blog during the event.

Meanwhile, ¡Presente! magazine has a fascinating collection of videos like the one above, and lots of informative articles, including this one about the impact of the SOA in Colombia:

In honor of the holiday, I want shout out to my two personal favorite veterans - Jonathan Kuniholm: Iraq veteran, engineer, co-founder of the Open Prosthetics Project; and Stan Goff: veteran of numerous conflicts from Vietnam to Haiti, author, blogger, founder of Insurgent American, and co-founder of Bring Them Home Now.