Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

"Never Forget" - A Marine Reflects On The Lies Of Our Endless Wars

The fires which began with the 9/11 attacks were never extinguished. They continue to burn fiercely from Afghanistan to Iraq to Syria to Yemen to North Africa, as the region and its regimes came unglued in the wake of George W. Bush’s ‘war on terror’.

The 16th anniversary of 9/11 was marked in America with the usual somber memorials and directives to ‘never forget'. But this definitive 9/11 slogan always takes me back to the overwhelming tide of pro-war fervor that swept the US and stifled any deeper reflection or debate in the years after September 11, 2001. Sadly, I was part of that fervor – and this too I will never forget.

The militarism of my youth

I joined the US Marine Corps as an idealistic 18-year-old in 2000, with a firm resolve – as I enthusiastically told my military recruiter shortly before leaving for boot camp – to “fight evil in the world”. This resolve was rooted more deeply in my veins after the 9/11 attacks. As a relatively new Marine, I had temporarily worked at the Pentagon while attached to a headquarters computer programming unit in the two months just prior to that tragic day, and was fortunate not to be there when it was attacked.

More

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a travesty against humankind. The truth speaks for itself.

Anonymous said...

I seem to remember one young US Senator who spoke out quite strongly and continuously against the war during the big runup. Many of you called him and others who spoke out traitors. hmmmmm. Are you adult enough to admit you were wrong? Doesn't seem like it.

Anonymous said...

But but as my marine corp major told me "we do it for all the right reasons". Total bs so I had to get out. Never a right reason for some of the shit the usgovt does. It's all about control money and power. Love my country and if ever attacked will defend. But the rest of the world can go to he'll. Along with all those who desire wealth and power. Eisenhower warned of the military industrial comples. And I would never allow any of my children to offer up their lives for the assholes in Washington or wall street.
Semper fi

Anonymous said...

I remember the C.I.A. training and supporting saddam and stated it frequently, even here. I have also learned the real reason they went after saddam was that he was wanting to change the "petrol-dollar" to another form of currency.

Gadaffi also had indicated he wanted to as well and we all know what happened to him.

The reasons we were given for going to war in the M.E. didn't add up then and they still do not add up to this day.

Only the most trusting and naive people still believe the 911 narrative about the towers and pentagon.

We can't understand why other countries hate the U.S. because we truly don't know what this country does in its foreign relations. It is not because they "hate us for our freedoms".

We only know what they tell us and that we are the greatest country in the world. We probably are better than most but we certainly are no saint.

Anonymous said...

643
Love your content.

Addition: there is a difference between the US Government and "we" the little people.

"We" do nothing.

The US Government does all manner of evil abroad and has persistently devalued our currency in the process.
In doing so, it has created a huge RISK for "we" little people. The instrument we use as financial exchange including exchange for our labor is the US Dollar. It is now worthless and protected by gunpoint, hence the need for an imperial army and . . . endless war . . .

Thank you

Anonymous said...

September 13, 2017 at 9:09 PM

Thank you and you are correct, imo.