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Maybe War Doesn't Work Anymore !

I think war is part of a much bigger subject that might be called non-violence or peace. It may be that The Status of Women belongs with this subject. And certainly our tendency to respect domination and our hegemony of believing in the importance of our nation being a super-power belong with this subject. The writing of Fareed Zakaria will be important. I think this will be where our continuing work will most focus.

Background

War has a deeply honored place in the history and the consciousness of most of us. We believe we did what was needed and we did it honorably. We remember the "War to End All Wars" and then the "Great War". Perhaps those wars were needed and had good result, but it is also possible that today's world is different. Today we fight enemies that don't have a single leader; there is nobody who has the power to surrender. Our effort seems to create new enemies and new conflicts rather then creating allies and preserving freedom. Yet the leaders of our nation still spend 20% of our national budget on "defense" ($549 billion in 2007). Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz believes the overall costs of the Iraq war (not just the cost to taxpayers) will reach $3 trillion. And now we have articulated the "Bush Doctrine" as the doctrine of "preemptive war".
The $2 Trillion Nightmare
The three trillion dollar war
What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy
A New African War Zone
On the Run as War Crosses Another Line in Africa
Military_budget_of_the_United_States
Federal_budget_of_the_United_States
Preemptive_War

A New Look at the Facts

Perhaps it is time to take a hard look at where we have tried to use war and what it has gotten us.
  1. In what specific engagements has the United States deployed troops since WWII ?
  2. What did each engagement cost us in dollars, in lives, in disablements ?
  3. What did we or others gain in safety or freedom ?
  4. What other options might have worked better to secure safety and freedom ?
The Worst Intentional Man-Created Atrocities since WW II
The Worst Intentional Man-Created Atrocities of the 20th Century
Will the Last Superpower Recognize In Time What We Must Do to Save the Planet?

Israeli Settler Violence--Again--and its Danger11/20/08Rabbi Michael LernerTikkun Email
On the Ground, The Forever War, by Dexter Filkins 9/14/08Robert StoneNYT
The three trillion dollar war 2/23/08Joseph Stiglitz & Linda BilmesThe London Times on-line

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