War! What is it good for?

By Donna

September 6, 2021 11:02 am

Category: Crime


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"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed This world In arms is not spending money alone, It is spending the sweat of Its laborers, the genius of Its scientists, the hopes of its children."

- President Eisenhower, address to the North American Society of Newspaper Editors on April 16, 1953

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

- President Eisenhower's farewell address, January 17, 1961

"Since 1979, do you know how many times China has been at war with anybody?" Carter asked. "None. And we have stayed at war." The U.S., he noted, has only enjoyed 16 years of peace in its 242-year history, making the country "the most warlike nation in the history of the world," Carter said. This is, he said, because of America's tendency to force other nations to "adopt our American principles."

In China, meanwhile, the economic benefits of peace were clear to the eye. "How many miles of high-speed railroad do we have in this country?" he asked. While China has some 18,000 miles of high-speed rail, the U.S. has "wasted, I think, $3 trillion" on military spending. "It's more than you can imagine. China has not wasted a single penny on war, and that's why they're ahead of us. In almost every way."

"And I think the difference is if you take $3 trillion and put it in American infrastructure you'd probably have $2 trillion leftover. We'd have high-speed railroad. We'd have bridges that aren't collapsing, we'd have roads that are maintained properly. Our education system would be as good as that of say South Korea or Hong Kong," Carter told the congregation.

- President Carter, April 2019




Cited and related links:

  1. avalon.law.yale.edu
  2. newsweek.com
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Comments on "War! What is it good for? "

  1. by Donna on September 6, 2021 11:34 am
    Family shot dead by US Marine with PTSD in Florida

    The family killed by a Marine sharpshooter on Sunday in a random rampage in Florida have been identified as Justice Gleason, 40, his 33-year-old partner Theresa Lanham and their three-month-old son Jody.

    They were all shot dead by Bryan Riley, a 33-year-old former Marine with PTSD who opened fire on their home in Lakeland, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, seemingly at random after telling his own girlfriend he was having mental health issues.

    Riley engaged police in a gunfight but then surrendered unarmed.

    Inside the home, police found Theresa still holding her baby's body, both of them lifeless. A 62-year-old woman described as the baby's grandmother was also found dead inside the home, as was the family's dog.

    An 11-year-old girl who was also inside was shot seven times but survived and is now in the hospital.
    msn.com


  2. by Curt_Anderson on September 6, 2021 7:17 pm
    Interesting that Ike made those comments about war. He led the Allied Forces to victory in what most Americans, Brits, Canadians, French and others would call a "good war".


  3. by Donna on September 6, 2021 9:17 pm
    Many veterans are antiwar. They've been among the most vocal opponents of war.


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