President Obama on Monday said he would “never hesitate” to use the U.S. military “unilaterally” to defend “interests” and “values,” including “maintaining the flow of commerce.” Fear of exactly that led the founders of this republic to give Congress the exclusive power to declare war. James Madison did not believe any single individual could be trusted with such power:
“The strongest passions and most dangerous weaknesses of the
Many discussions of lies that launch wars quickly come around to the question “Well then why did they want the war?” There is usually more than one single motive involved, but the motives are not terribly hard to find.
Unlike many soldiers who have been lied to, most of the key war deciders, the masters of war who determine whether or not wars happen, do not in any sense have noble motives for what they do. Though noble motives can be found in the reasoning of some of those involved,
The idea that wars are waged out of humanitarian concern may not at first appear even worthy of response. Wars kill humans. What can be humanitarian about that? But look at the sort of rhetoric that successfully sells new wars:
“This conflict started Aug. 2, when the dictator of Iraq invaded a small and helpless neighbor. Kuwait, a member of the Arab League and a member of the United Nations, was crushed, its people brutalized. Five months ago, Saddam Hussein started this cruel war against
In this age of supposedly fighting against rulers and on behalf of oppressed peoples, the Vietnam War offers an interesting case in which the U.S. policy was to avoid overthrowing the enemy government but to work hard to kill its people. To overthrow the government in Hanoi, it was feared, would draw China or Russia into the war, something the United States hoped to avoid. But destroying the nation ruled by Hanoi was expected to cause it to submit to U.S. rule.
The Afghanistan War, already the
By David Swanson
“And the bewildered herd is still believing
Everything we’ve been told from our birth
Hell they won’t lie to me
Not on my own damn TV
But how much is a liar’s word worth
And what happened to peace on earth”
–Willie Nelson
When President Barack Obama joined the ranks of Henry Kissinger and the other gentle souls who have received Nobel Peace Prizes, he did something that I don’t think anyone else had previously done in a Peace Prize acceptance
by David Swanson
What’s behind our constant wars? Is it biology, culture, economic imperatives, ideology….madness? Whatever the initial motivation, wars are always sustained by lies.
by David Swanson
The following has been excerpted from David Swanson’s new book, "War Is A Lie" http://warisalie.org.
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Remarks at George Mason University, Fall for the Book, September 23, 2010. (Video available 9-24-2010 at http://warisacrime.org)
Thank you for being here and skipping the Pledge to America event in Sterling.
I’m going to try to be brief because I tend to be very long-winded answering questions, so I’ve learned to leave time for that. It may sound, as I speak, like I’m giving an overview of a lot of topics, so please keep in mind any that you want to ask questions about or raise
By David Swanson
Dear Congressman Sestak, How would you like to win an election? Can I give you a bit of unsolicited advice? Thanks.
I opposed this war before it began, as did many people in Pennsylvania, and I hope to explain why. But, Congressman Sestak, you need not agree that it was always wrong in order to agree that it is wrong now. I support the immediate announcement of a swift withdrawal of all troops, mercenaries, and military contractors, and I hope to explain why. But you don’t
By David Swanson
[Testimony to be hand-delivered and presented orally at a forum hosted by Congressman Bill Delahunt in Falmouth, Mass., this Sunday. The public is encouraged to attend. The article could be tweaked for any congress member, and I’d be glad to help you tweak it for yours.–DS]
I want to thank Congressman Delahunt and Cape Codders for Peace. I opposed this war before it began, as did many of you, and I hope to explain why. But, Congressman Delahunt, you need not agree
By David Swanson
I recently sent the following note to a friend. The note I was replying to is pasted in below it. You might want to skip down and read it first.
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Thanks for raising an extremely important topic, one that I think we should all be examining closely and discussing in depth, especially with those who are starting from different positions, and even if we’re afraid we may have to – in the end – agree to disagree.
The author you quote suggests that the United States
