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ADDICTED TO WAR -- WHY THE U.S. CAN'T KICK MILITARISM -- TRANSCRIPT |
| [President Bush:] Listen Jeb,
you're going to have to cough up the terrorists or we start
bombing Miami tomorrow! Posada, Bosch and their friends are only a few of the violent characters whose activities have been sponsored by the CIA. Many of the CIA's "covert operations" -- bombings, assassinations, sabotage, paramilitary massacres -- are terrorism by any definition. Many of the shadowy figures involved in these activities are still working with the CIA around the world. But others -- including Osama bin Laden -- have turned on their former partners. [85] It's too bad. They made such a good team. Despite the hypocrisy and the counterproductive nature of the "War on Terrorism," it has already produced major benefits for Bush and his friends in Washington, not the least of which was practically a blank check for the military. For whatever it takes.. PAY TO THE ORDER OF PENTAGON $_________ [Signed by:] U.S. Congress After the end of the Cold War, many in Washington were reconsidering the humongous size of the military budget, which had converted the U.S. from the world's biggest lender into the world's biggest debtor. [Monster USA military budget is riding the back of Uncle Sam:] Bonds, anyone? T-bills? [Monster USA military budget having his toenails clipped:] Ouch! That hurts! In an effort to balance the federal budget, politicians were beginning to trim the Pentagon's toenails. After September 11 all this changed. Bush and the Congress started to pump up the Pentagon's bloated budget without restraint. September 11, 2001 marked the beginning of a new chapter in America's foreign wars. In this chapter, violence may be more continuous and widespread and there may be more impact at home. "Homeland defense" has become a slogan for eliminating civil rights protections long deemed inconvenient by the FBI and other police agencies. Agencies that often give priority to suppressing political opponents. [86] The Pentagon and the CIA expect to have a freer hand in carrying out wars and covert operations around the world. [WAR GAME ROOM:] The enemies of America better watch out! Yeah, from now on its going to be no holds barred! Remember that the list of those declared to be "enemies" and "terrorists" by the U.S. government has included many people fighting for democracy in their countries. Like who? Like Nelson Mandela. In order to fund the new war effort, Congress has abandoned efforts to avoid budget deficits and preserve Social Security funds. The Army, Navy and Air Force are lining up to get money for expensive new weapons systems now packaged as essential for the War on Terrorism. We can't afford to be without it! It's vital for homeland defense! We have to close the window of vulnerability! Even Congressional opposition to the far-fetched "missile defense program" collapsed. Missile defense, like the "War on Terrorism," promises to protect Americans from danger while actually creating a much more dangerous world. If other countries think there is any chance the U.S. could block their missiles, they will feel vulnerable to U.S. attack. China has already promised to build more and better missiles which could overwhelm the U.S. "missile shield." This will spur a nuclear arms race in Asia. If China builds more nuclear missiles, then India will. If India does, then Pakistan will. If Pakistan ... [87] In 1972, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. signed the ABM Treaty to try to avoid this kind of arms race. In order to pursue missile defense, the U.S. unilaterally scrapped the treaty. But that didn't bother missile defense proponents. Hey, the world's changed. We can win an arms race with anyone! In this spirit, while the Pentagon has reduced its arsenal of vulnerable land-based missiles, it continues to spend billions to build more submarine-based nuclear missiles. And Congress has rejected the nuclear test ban treaty, which has been signed by 164 countries. [88] The U.S. is keeping enough nuclear firepower to wipe out most of humanity. Just to be safe! As potential nuclear targets in Russia have declined, the Pentagon has been retargeting its missiles at "every reasonable adversary." Which makes other countries feel like they better hurry up and get nuclear weapons themselves. [89] In the post-Cold War world order, the U.S. does not seem to want to be bound by any arms treaties. It refuses to sign a new protocol to the 1972 biological weapons treaty because it would require international inspections of its biological weapons research facilities, where it is creating deadly new strains including highly lethal powdered anthrax. U.S. officials say they are only creating germ weapons in order to study how to defend against them. Of course, we would never use them ourselves! [90] But can other countries trust a government that bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki and actually developed plans to use smallpox and other biological weapons against Vietnam and Cuba? Would you? [91] And U.S. "weaponized germs" not only represent a threat to people in other countries. What if some of the Pentagon's powdered anthrax got into the hands of some fanatic here in the United States? During the Cold War the U.S. had a serious military competitor in the Soviet Union. Today the U.S. maintains a huge war machine despite the lack of any serious competition. The U.S. military budget is now larger than the next 25 biggest spenders put together! It makes up a full 36% of total global military spending. United States $396 billion. Annual Military Expenditures. The world's four biggest spenders: Russia $60 billion; China $42 billion; Japan $40 billion. Being the world cop and all, we do have certain responsibilities! [92] Chapter 5: The High Price of Militarism Maintaining this huge military machine is not cheap. Every year the U.S. spends hundreds of billions of dollars on the military. $396,100,000,000 military budget 2003 fiscal year. 2001: $308 billion; 2002: $351 billion; 2003: $396 billion; 2007: $470 billion (proposed) [93] Since 1948 the U.S. has spent more than $15 trillion to build up its military might. Just how much is $15,000,000,000,000 worth? [94] Lemme see. My God! It adds up to more than the cumulative monetary value of all human-made wealth in the U.S.! [95] In other words, the government has spent more on the military over the last four decades than the value of all the factories, machinery, roads, bridges, water and sewage systems, airports, railroads, power plants, office buildings, shopping centers, schools, hospitals, hotels, houses, etc., in this country put together! Wow! Vote Duke. Buy Coke. If we add up the current Pentagon budget, the nuclear weapons budget of the Energy Department, the military portion of the NASA budget, foreign military aid, veterans' benefits, interest payments on debt incurred by past military spending and other military-related expenses, the U.S. spends over $776 billion a year to feed its addiction to war. [96] That's more than a million dollars a minute! This costs you plenty. An average American household "contributes" over $4,400 in taxes every year to the cause of building up the world's most powerful military. [97] Now I know why we can't ever seem to make ends meet! Mom -- could we get... If you need anything else, just give a holler! Because Congress is so generous to the Pentagon... Social programs get short-changed. That's all we can afford -- we can't bust the budget, you know. Bridges, roads, sewers, and water systems are crumbling because the government fails to provide the money needed to maintain them. [98] Bus fares are rising and service is being slashed as the Federal Government has eliminated financial support for mass transit operating costs. [RTD bus with signs on the side saying:] Be all you can be in the Army! [and] NOT IN SERVICE. [99] Schools are run-down and over-crowded. In some inner-city high schools, 80% of the students drop out. More than a fifth of all adults can't read a job application or a street sign. Yet federal education funding per student has declined substantially over the last two decades. [100] We believe in bake sale financing. Skyrocketing prices are causing a crisis in health care. 43 million people have no insurance and millions more have inadequate insurance. More and more people don't get the medical care they need because they cant' afford it. Yet public hospitals are being closed and the government has failed to enact any serious health care reform. EXIT. INSURED PATIENTS [thataway]; UNINSURED PATIENTS [thataway]. Reception. [Mom leading boy to exit:] Mom, it hurts! [101] One-fifth of all expectant mothers do not receive pre-natal care. This is one reason the U.S. has the highest infant mortality rate in the developed world (twice as high as Japan's). Every 50 minutes a child in the U.S. dies as a result of poverty or hunger. Yet Congress has been exceedingly stingy in funding maternal and child health programs. [102] [Politician kissing baby:] I just love babies! Vote for Me! [Baby:] Why don't you put your money where your mouth is, mister? Yuck! With rents rising and wages falling, millions of families are living on the verge of eviction. Millions of people end up living on the streets. Yet when it comes to funding for housing and homelessness, most of Washington seems to have adopted Reagan's attitude. [Reagan:] Those people want to live on the streets! [103] Drug addiction and alcoholism are crippling millions of people, and devastating families and whole communities. Yet there are not enough public treatment centers to handle even a fraction of those seeking help, and many centers are closing their doors for lack of funding. There's just no money! Oh yeah? Somehow you come up with billions of dollars a year to operate 12 aircraft carrier battle groups! With the $1,000,000,000 it takes to maintain just one of those aircraft carriers for a year, you could build 17,000 homes for 67,000 people. [104] ... or you could provide free prenatal care for 1,600,000 expectant mothers, saving thousands of babies. [105] ... or enroll 384,000 more kids in the Head Start preschool program this year. [106] ... or provide intensive drug or alcohol treatment for 333,000 people. [107] ... or give 500,000 malnourished children in this country three meals a day for a year. [108] ... or you could put a down payment on a brand new aircraft carrier! U.S.S. Ronald Reagan Which is exactly what they are doing -- building a new aircraft carrier! The government can find hundreds of billions for new aircraft carriers and other military hardware ... But they say they can't find the money to deal with the pressing problems we face! [109] The price of militarism includes more than high taxes and poor social services. Building nuclear weapons, for instance, has probably been the biggest environmental disaster this country has ever seen. More than 100 nuclear weapons plants owned by the Energy Department have been spewing radioactive waste into the air, dumping it in rivers, and leaking it into the soil and groundwater for decades. All under the cover of government secrecy. RESTRICTED AREA. NATIONAL SECURITY. KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT. The administrators who run the nuclear weapons plants have knowingly subjected the people who work in them and the people who live near them to deadly radioactive contamination -- without telling them a word about it. The government now estimates it will take 25,000 workers at least 30 years to clean up the mess at these plants -- at a cost of $300 billion or more. And guess who's paying the bill! [110] What's more, nuclear weapons tests have spread deadly plutonium across large tracts of the Southwest and the South Pacific. Many of the 458,000 U.S. soldiers who participated in the atomic testing program are now dying of cancer. Don't worry, kid. It's perfectly safe. Just wear these goggles! ? [111] But they're not the only ones. High cancer rates plague the general population in the testing areas. One study estimated that by the end of this century nuclear testing worldwide will have caused 430,000 people to die of cancer. [112] And plutonium remains highly radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. Meanwhile, at military bases around the country they've been dumping hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic wastes, including chemical warfare agents, napalm, explosives, PCB's, and heavy metals, creating malignant lagoons and contaminating the groundwater of surrounding communities. There are 11,000 military dump sites that need to be cleaned up. The estimated cost -- $100 to $200 billion. I say, let's fence 'em all off and call them national security sacrifice zones. [113] DANGER. KEEP OUT. TOXIC WASTE. He's serious -- that's what some people are proposing. Nearly everyone in this country pays a high price for militarism. But those among us who have paid the highest price are the millions of soldiers who have been sent overseas to fight. More than 100,000 U.S. soldiers and sailors have died in foreign wars since U.S. troops were sent to Korea in 1950. [114] Hundreds of thousands more have been wounded, many disabled for life. Many Gulf War veterans are suffering the effects of "Gulf War Syndrome." Those who survive continue to be haunted by the wars they fought in. Half a million veterans of the Vietnam War suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder -- caused by memories of the horrors of the war. The number of Vietnam vets who have killed themselves since the war is greater than the number of U.S. soldiers who died in the war. [115] Hundreds of thousands of military veterans have ended up living on the streets. [116] And the killing goes on, even between wars. Every year, more than a thousand U.S. soldiers and sailors are killed in military accidents. They are burned to death in fires at sea, crushed by tanks, and blown up by practice artillery fire. BOOM -- U.S. NAVY They break their necks jumping out of planes in high wind, and crash in unsafe helicopters. [117] ?! -- SNAP These are all victims of Washington's addiction to militarism. And there are more victims ... Every year, hundreds of active-duty soldiers and sailors commit suicide. Of course, nobody is born with a desire to be humiliated and treated like a "grunt," much less to be killed. So indoctrination into the culture of militarism starts early. [Baby with gun:] Bang! Bang! You're dead! Television, movies, video games, and toy stores all make killing seem not only glorious, but fun. [Big guy on TV with big gun:] Eat lead, scumface! [Boy watching TV:] Cool! High school principals lock the doors and hire armed guards, supposedly to protect the kids from drug dealers, pimps, and other dangerous characters. But they roll out the red carpet for the most dangerous characters of all -- the military recruiters. ARMY; NAVY; AIRFORCE; MARINES. The recruiters, who are not quite as honest as used car salesmen, come armed with slick brochures and glossy promises. Just sign here and you'll get money for college and we'll train you to be a nuclear physicist! Cool! By the time the recruits find out what military life is really all about, they're trapped. I said lick it up -- you got that, wormhead! The ones who end up on the front lines are usually kids who can't find a job or pay for college. Almost all of them are from working-class families, and a disproportionate number are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Native Americans, and other national minorities. As a result, it's mostly the poor who die on the battlefield. That's why 22% of U.S. casualties in Vietnam were Black soldiers. Even though Blacks only make up 12% of the U.S. population. [118] The greatest injustice is that the people who start the wars are not the ones who fight and die. [Rich nerd playing golf:] My daddy told me I could serve my country better by going to law school! Maria Cotto spoke out against this injustice. Her brother was killed in the Persian Gulf War: "I saw them on television saying they were spending billions on this. I saw them on Wall Street and they were cheering. It was sick, they were cheering like it was a game ..." "Don't they know it means people will die? Not them. Not their families. Not their kids. People like my brother." [119] Ismael Cotto, 27 years old, Bronx, New York. Killed in Saudi Arabia, Jan. 1991. Others reap the benefits. For most people, the huge Pentagon budget means less money in their pockets. IRS--PENTAGON. But for some people, just the opposite is true. WAR PROFITS Over 100,000 companies feed at the Pentagon trough. But the big money goes to a handful of huge corporations. Outta the way! I was here first! 1999 Pentagon Contracts: United Technologies: $2.4 billion; Textron: $1.4 billion; Northrop Grunman: $3.2 billion; Boeing: $11.6 billion; Raytheon: $6.4 billion; GE: $1.7 billion; General Dynamics: $4.6 billion; Lockheed Martin: $12.7 billion; TRW: $1.4 billion. [120] The families that own these corporations owe their wealth to the Pentagon's generosity with your tax money. So they don't mind sharing a little with their friends and benefactors in Washington. Here's to the Pentagon--the only place you can sell a 13 cent bo_ for $2043! [121] Dick Cheney, George W. Bush's Vice-President and chief advisor is one of the politicians who has made a very profitable career out of promoting the military-industrial complex. After presiding over the Gulf War as Defense Secretary under George W.'s father, Cheney was named CEO of Halliburton, Inc. As the world's biggest oil services firm with a huge stake in the Middle East, Halliburton was a major beneficiary of the Gulf War. H is also a big military contractor, raking in billions for building military bases and providing battlefield services. Under Cheney, Halliburton's government contracts increased sharply. I knew we were getting the right guy for the job! [122] Cheney was rewarded handsomely, pocketing millions in salary and stock options every year. He ended up as Halliburton's largest individual stockholder, with a $45 million stake. [123] [Cheney says:] I earned every penny of it! Cheney was also invited to serve on the boards of the two other huge war contractors, TRW and EDS. His wife, Lynn, joined the board of Lockheed-Martin. After Cheney returned to the White House in 2001, Lockheed-Martin was awarded the biggest plum in the history of war contracts -- a deal to manufacture the next generation of fighter jets worth hundreds of billions of dollars. It's no wonder the Cheneys are among the most avid champions of the "War on Terrorism." [Mr. and Mrs. Cheney waving American flags:] We're just doing our patriotic duty! [124] In the front lines of the pro-war crowd you will find an assortment of bankers, corporate executives, politicians and generals. If you ask them why they are so fond of going to war they will give you noble and selfless reasons. Democracy. Freedom. Justice. Peace. But what really motivates them to go to war are somewhat less lofty aims: Money! Markets! Natural resources! Power! Chapter 6: Militarism and the Media For some people, war means handsome profits and overseas investment opportunities. DAILY NEWS--IT'S WAR! U.S. WILL PREVAIL--PRESIDENT. But for most people, war means higher taxes and body bags. It's not surprising, therefore, that most people are less enthusiastic about going to war than the war profiteers are. [U.S. Military offers boy a gun:] Here. [Boy:] Uhh ... lemme think about it. Because people are often reluctant to support wars half way around the world, the government and its spokespeople have always had to go to great lengths to convince people to go along with these wars. They wrap them up in red, white and blue and present them to the people as their patriotic duty. [Girl holding a present wrapped up in red, white and blue:] ?--TIC TIC They paint monstrous pictures of the enemy of the hour. [Newsman on TV:] Reliable sources reported today that _____ (Fill in the blank) eats babies for dinner. Since the days of William Randolph Hearst, the pro-war message has been delivered to the people by the news media. Buy a Liberty Bond. Help Furnish the Sinews of War. But it was after World War II that the press, the radio networks, and the fledgling television industry became fully integrated into the newly emerging military-industrial complex. With the "Cold War" getting under way, this complex had its work cut out for it. Charles Wilson, Chairman of the Board of General Electric (whom Truman had just appointed to head the Office of Defense Mobilization), spelled out what this work was in a speech to the Newspaper Publishers Association in 1950: "If the people were not convinced [that the Free World is in mortal danger] it would be impossible for Congress to vote the vast sums now being spent to avert this danger. With the support of public opinion, as marshalled by the press, we are off to a good start. It is our job -- yours and mine -- to keep our people convinced that the only way to keep disaster away from our shores is to build up America's might." [125] Charles Wilson and his cronies at GE were, of course, very eager to see a massive military build up. GE had major investments around the world, which they expected the Pentagon to protect. It also was, and is, a charter member of the military-industrial complex. A member in good standing, I might add! GE is the country's third-largest military contractor, raking in billions of dollars every year. It produces parts for every nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal, makes jet engines for military aircraft, and creates all kinds of profitable electronic gadgets for the Pentagon. It's also the company that secretly released millions of curies of deadly radiation from the Hanford nuclear weapons facility in Washington state and produced faulty nuclear power plants that dot the U.S. countryside. [GE spokesperson:] "We bring good things to life!" From Wilson's time, GE has been very concerned with making use of the media. In 1954 it hired a floundering actor named Ronald Reagan to be its corporate spokesman. It furnished Ron and Nancy with an all-electric house, and Ron with his own TV show called "GE Theater." It also furnished Reagan with "The Speech," GE's political message for America, and sent him around the country to deliver it. He's been delivering variations of "The Speech" ever since. [126] Meanwhile, GE was busy buying up TV and radio stations across the country. Then, in 1986, GE bought its own TV network -- NBC. [127] [Newsman on TV with GE lightbulb for a head:] Good evening, I'm Tom Brokaw and this is the NBC Nightly News. Charles Wilson would be pleased with NBC's programming. The network is very good at marshalling public opinion along just the lines he suggested. And NBC is not alone. You get just about the same message no matter what channel you turn to. ABC: Our game plan is right on schedule... CNN: Our game plan is right on schedule... CBS: Our game plan is right on schedule... After the Persian Gulf War, one of the Bush Administration's top war planners spoke to a group of prominent journalists and thanked them for their help. "[Television was] our chief tool in selling our policy." (Richard Hass, National Security Council, 1991) [128] It sure was. We were treated to live 24-hour war coverage, sponsored by Exxon and General Electric and cleared by the Pentagon. [Reporter asks Military Man:] Just how many lives can these new high-tech weapons save, Colonel? When it comes to war, the networks discard all pretenses of objectivity. [Three cheerleaders from ABC, FOX, and NBC yell:] Bomb 'em back! Bomb 'em back! Wwwway back! Lawrence Grossman, who was in charge of PBS and NBC News for many years, described the role of the press this way: "The job of the President is to set the agenda and the job of the press is to follow the agenda that the leadership sets." [129] Why do all the networks sound the same? Why are they all consumed by war fever every time the White House decides to send troops overseas? Maybe it's got something to do with who controls them. The television news media are owned by some of the largest corporations in the country. NBC, as we have seen, is owned by GE, CBS is owned by Viacom, ABC is owned by Disney, and CNN is owned by AOL Time Warner. The members of the boards of directors of these powerful corporations also sit on the boards of weapons manufacturers and other companies with vested interests around the world such as Sun Microsystems, EDS, Lucent Technologies, Prudential, etc. [130] XEROX, JP MORGAN CHASE, CHRYSLER, MARRIOTT, CITIBANK Our networks tell you everything you need to know. Most of the news available to us -- about war and peace and everything else -- is filtered through the perspective of the corporate news media. The government and the news media obviously have a powerful influence on public opinion. [GE TV talking:] Everyone is rallying behind the President. [[TV viewer:] Hmm... But their influence is not as complete as they might hope. Chapter 7: Resisting Militarism In fact, there's been strong opposition to foreign military adventures since the Mexican-American and Spanish-American wars of the last century. The anti-war movement grew especially strong during the war to conquer the Philippines. "I have seen that we do not intend to free but to subjugate the Philippines. And so I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land ... I have a strong aversion to sending our bright boys out there to fight with a disgraced musket under a polluted flag." (Mark Twain, Vice President, Anti-Imperialist League, 1900) [131] Let's go back to Charles Wilson's era, when he and the media were mobilizing support for the Korean War. At first they were very successful. But despite their impressive efforts, the support didn't last long. After the body bags started coming home, the majority of people turned against the war. [Mother:] I ant my son back home! Now. The government and the media once again did their best to whip up support for the war in Vietnam. But as the war escalated, the greatest anti-war movement in U.S. history arose. At first, the opposition was small but determined. [Anti-war demonstrators:] BRING OUR MEN HOME But opposition grew by leaps and bounds as people began to learn what was going on in Vietnam. By 1969 there were 750,000 people marching on Washington, and millions more marching in cities across the country. In May 1970, after police and National Guard troops fired on anti-war demonstrations, killing four students at Kent State in Ohio and two students at Jackson State in Mississippi, students at 400 universities across the country went on strike -- the first general student strike in U.S. History. [132] When police shot and killed three people during the Chicano Moratorium against the war in August 1971, a rebellion raged through East Los Angeles for three days. [133] Resistance to the war took many forms. People refused to pay war taxes. People burned their draft cards. Hell no, we won't go! The most famous draft resister was Muhammad Ali. [Muhammad Ali says:] I won't serve in a white man's war! People blocked the path of trains hauling troops and munitions bound for the war. STOP THE WAR! STOP THE TRAIN. 14,000 people were arrested when they moved to shut down Washington, D.C. for three days in 1971. It was the largest mass arrest in U.S. history! [134] Even more serious for the Pentagon, discipline was breaking down among the troops in Vietnam. The soldiers saw no reason to fight, and they wouldn't. By the end of the '60s, a virtual civil war simmered between soldiers and officers. A U.S. military expert warned the Pentagon about the state of its army: "[By] every conceivable indicator, our army that now remains in Vietnam is in a state approaching collapse, with individual units avoiding or having refused combat, murdering their officers and non-commissioned officers, drug-ridden and dispirited where not near mutinous." (Col. Robert Heinl, U.S.M.C. retired, 1971) [135] [136] Record numbers of soldiers and sailors deserted or went AWOL. Organized resistance was developing among the troops. Hundreds of underground G.I. newspapers were springing up at bases around the U.S. and around the world. Contingents of soldiers and sailors were marching at the head of anti-war demonstrations. Soldiers coming home from Vietnam were telling the country about the horrors of the war and they were organizing to stop it. In April 1971, more than a thousand Vietnam veterans gathered at the Capitol Building in Washington and threw back the medals they had received in the war. [137] By the end of the decade, the majority of the people were against the war. The anti-war movement, together with the struggles waged by African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and other oppressed peoples in the U.S., and the women's liberation movement were opening people's eyes to a whole system of injustice. The growing opposition to the war played an important role in convincing the government that it had to pull out of Vietnam. "The weakest chink in our armor is American public opinion. Our people won't stand firm in the face of heavy losses, and they can bring down the government." (President Lyndon Johnson, 1968) [138] As a result of the Vietnam War, a broad anti-militarist sentiment developed among the American people, which was derisively called the "Vietnam Syndrome" in official circles. Don't talk about that dreadful disease! When George H. sent troops to the Persian Gulf, people were very apprehensive. The majority did not want to go to war. A powerful anti-war movement grew more quickly than ever before in U.S. history. Soon the streets were filled with demonstrations. Immediately after the war began, hundreds of thousands of people marched in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The government tried to organize pro-war rallies while the bombs were falling, but only a few people showed up. [Pro-war demonstrator:] Turn Baghdad into a parking lot! OPERATION DESERT STORM. After the bombs started dropping, the pro-war media blitz convinced many people that they shouldn't oppose the war because they might be endangering U.S. troops. [Soldier 1:] The media forgot to mention that it was Bush who put us in danger in the first place. [Soldier 2:] And that the best way to get us out of danger is to get us out of here! George the Elder knew he had to finish the war quickly and with few U.S. casualties or the people would turn against it. When Iraq chose to withdraw rather than fight and the war ended with a one-sided slaughter, Bush was euphoric. "By God, we've kicked the Vietnam Syndrome once and for all!" (George H., February 1991) [139] George W. Bush seems to be out to test his father's proposition. He has promised us a long and bloody War on Terrorism with lots of casualties. The war in Afghanistan, he has declared, is "just the beginning of the war against terror." [140] "There's a variety of theaters. So long as anybody's terrorizing established governments, there needs to be a war." (George W. Bush, October 17, 2001) [141] If Bush is serious, we may be facing an endless war. Terrorist tactics have been around as long as war and are unlikely to disappear in our lifetimes. Maybe Bush's language is simply rhetorical excess. But it's also possible he and his advisors envision an era of uninterrupted warfare, in which one country after another will be targeted for bombing. Which will make us the targets of more retaliation! It seems that dick Cheney, for one, is ready for this. Emerging from his secret bunker, he warned that the "War on Terrorism" would go on for a long time. "It may never end. At least not in our lifetime." (Cheney, Oct. 2001) [142] As part of this endless war, he declared, we have to be prepared for ongoing terrorist attacks. "For the first time in our history we will probably suffer more casualties here at home than will our troops overseas." (Cheney, Oct. 2001) [143] This means, he said, that we have to get used to invasive security measures and sacrifice civil liberties. "We're going to have to take steps ... that's become a permanent part of our way of life." (Cheney, Oct. 2001) [144] After September 11, Americans were stunned by the horror of the terrorist attacks. Bush's bellicose words resonated among many. But as the "War on Terrorism" goes on, will this initial support last longer than it did during the Korean and Vietnam Wars? Even Bush worries that it won't. "People are going to get tired of the War on Terrorism." (George W. Bush, October 17, 2001) [145] Bush and Cheney offer us a very grim vision of the future -- War, which will provoke more terrorist attacks, which will be met with more war, which will inspire more terrorism. Sensible people will not be willingly dragged down this path of violence and retaliation. The "War on Terrorism" continues an inglorious history of militarism. Militarism is the bloody attendant of empire. Do we really want to allow this tradition to continue? What is this addiction to war doing to the people of the U.S. and the world? Thousands march to protest U.S. war plans for Afghanistan, Washington, D.C., Sept. 2001. As they whip up war fever and ask you to put your life on the line, whether in a bomber in the skies over the Middle East or as a potential bomb victim in New York, ask yourself ... How much does it cost? MILLION $ A MINUTE Who's going to profit? WAR PROFITS Who's going to pay? And who's going to die? Think about it. Do something about it. Kick out the war junkies! How can we do that? That's up to us to figure out! The Next Chapter: Do Something About It! Here are a few groups that are trying to figure that out ... We've only been able to include in this list a small number of the many groups conducting anti-militarist education and organizing anti-war activities in the U.S. The movement is growing rapidly and is very diverse. Some of the most vibrant organizations are fledging, local, sectional, and idiosyncratic (and didn't make it on this list). More organizations are listed on Frank Dorrel's website (www.addictedtowar.com). We encourage you to contact groups whose activities are most closely aligned with your own concerns, beliefs, and talents. American Friends Service Committee Central Committee of Conscientious
Objectors Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman Democracy Now! is a national radio and TV show committed to bringing the voices of the marginalized to the airwaves to discuss global and local issues, including militarism. Democracy Now! is broadcast on the Pacifica radio network (KPFA, 94.1 FM, Berkeley; KPFK, 90.7 FM, Los Angeles; KPFT, 90.1 FM, Houston; WBAI, 99.5 FM, New York; WPFW, 89.3 PM, Washington, DC) and on other community radio stations, Free Speech TV (Dish Network Channel 9415), and public access television stations. Fellowship of Reconciliation Global Peace Campaign Global Exchange International Action Center Not in Our Name True Majority Office of the Americas Peace Action School of the Americas Watch Teaching for Change Veterans for Peace War Resisters League Voices in the Wilderness Women's International League for Peace
and Freedom Photograph and Drawing Credits Page 3: Artist unknown I. For updated information on the U.S.
military budget, see Center for Defense Information, www.cdi.o rg/
issues/budget. 41-70 missing. 71. R. Barnet and I. Cavanagh, "Unequally
Sharing the Costs and Dividends of War," The Real Costs of War
(Washington, D.C.: Institute for Policy Studies, May 1991), p. 3. "Addicted to War is a witty and
devastating portrait of U.S. military policy, a fine example of art
serving society." "Addicted to War is an extraordinarily
important and powerful little book. Every American should read it." "Addicted to War is not only a witty and
entertaining portrait of our war-dependent economy, but a truly relevant
insight not available in the mainstream media, something our children
should know before they must make their choice whether or not to become
fodder for the military machine." "As a veteran of three wars, World War II
through Vietnam, with 33 years of Army service, I find this book to be the
most truthful recitation of our government's policies available anywhere." "Addicted to War is must reading for all
Americans who are concerned with understanding the true nature of U.S.
foreign policy and how it affects us here at home." "The enormous criminal impact of U.S.
militarism on the people of the world and the U.S. is hard to grasp. This
books makes it easier to understand. Now we must act."
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