It didn't start with Iraq...or Vietnam

From writings of General Smedley Butler, the last American soldier to
be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor twice

**********

"War is a Racket" (1935)

War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as
something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a
small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the
benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a
nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with
America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then
it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag
follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy
investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight
for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of
Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is
blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle
men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and
a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison.
Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four
months in active military service as a member of this country's most
agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned
ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period,
I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big
Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a
racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of
it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a
thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties
remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-
ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil
interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the
National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping
of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall
Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua
for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I
brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests
in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way
unmolested.

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a
swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al
Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in
three districts. I operated on three continents.

 

On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 23:28:12 -0800, Bill Cleere wrote:

> From writings of General Smedley Butler, the last American soldier to
> be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor twice
>
> **********
>
> "War is a Racket" (1935)
>
> War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as
> something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a
> small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the
> benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
>
> I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a
> nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with
> America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then
> it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag
> follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.
>
> I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy
> investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight
> for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of
> Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
>
> There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is
> blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle
> men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and
> a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.
>
> It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison.
> Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four
> months in active military service as a member of this country's most
> agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned
> ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period,
> I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big
> Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a
> racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
>
> I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of
> it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a
> thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties
> remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-
> ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.
>
> I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil
> interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the
> National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping
> of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall
> Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua
> for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I
> brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests
> in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way
> unmolested.
>
> During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a
> swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al
> Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in
> three districts. I operated on three continents.

Not a widely-taught title in US public schools, I imagine.

--
tinmimus99@hotmail.com

smeeter 11 or maybe 12

mp 10

mhm 29x13

I AM JUST WEST OF THE MANURE PILE

< First known US military "wireless" communication

 

On Nov 25, 1:37 pm, mimus <tinmimu...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 23:28:12 -0800, Bill Cleere wrote:
> > From writings of General Smedley Butler, the last American soldier to
> > be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor twice
>
> > **********
>
> > "War is a Racket" (1935)
>
> > War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as
> > something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a
> > small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the
> > benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
>
> > I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a
> > nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with
> > America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then
> > it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag
> > follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.
>
> > I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy
> > investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight
> > for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of
> > Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
>
> > There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is
> > blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle
> > men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and
> > a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.
>
> > It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison.
> > Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four
> > months in active military service as a member of this country's most
> > agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned
> > ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period,
> > I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big
> > Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a
> > racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
>
> > I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of
> > it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a
> > thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties
> > remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-
> > ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.
>
> > I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil
> > interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the
> > National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping
> > of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall
> > Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua
> > for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I
> > brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests
> > in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way
> > unmolested.
>
> > During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a
> > swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al
> > Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in
> > three districts. I operated on three continents.
>
> Not a widely-taught title in US public schools, I imagine.

No, that sort of unpatriotic talk coming from a decorated Marine
general
would not be fitting for the ears of impressionable young Americans.

The interesting thing is that Smedley Butler was not silenced or
punished. He was simply ignored. Even the Congressional
Committee which agreed that the Fascist plot to overthrow the
United States which Butler reported was real swept it under the
carpet as soon as possible.

As for our current generals...they are the most gutless lot
imaginable. More than 2,000 serving private soldiers and
lower-ranking officers have signed official Petitions for
Redress to their congressmen, asking them to stop the war.
(This is the sole freedom of speech guaranteed by law to
active-duty soldiers). No general officer has signed one.
The excuse they use for waiting until they retire to say
how fucked-up they thought everything was is that serving
commanders need to keep their opinions to themselves.
Funny thing is, that hasn't stopped a bunch of 'em from
shooting their yaps off about how much the armed forces
are being hurt by letting in those godamn homos.

-- Bill Cleere

"I prefer the pleasure of writing bits of nonsense to that of wearing
an embroidered coat which costs 800 francs." (Stendhal)

 

>> On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 23:28:12 -0800, Bill Cleere wrote:
>> > From writings of General Smedley Butler, the last American soldier to
>> > be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor twice
>>
>> > **********
>>
>> > "War is a Racket" (1935)
>>
>> > War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as
>> > something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a
>> > small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the
>> > benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
>> <etc.>

> On Nov 25, 1:37 pm, mimus <tinmimu...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Not a widely-taught title in US public schools, I imagine.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:02:51 -0800, Bill Cleere wrote:
> No, that sort of unpatriotic talk coming from a decorated Marine general
> would not be fitting for the ears of impressionable young Americans.
>
> The interesting thing is that Smedley Butler was not silenced or
> punished. He was simply ignored. Even the Congressional Committee
> which agreed that the Fascist plot to overthrow the United States which
> Butler reported was real swept it under the carpet as soon as possible.
>
> As for our current generals...they are the most gutless lot imaginable.
> More than 2,000 serving private soldiers and lower-ranking officers have
> signed official Petitions for Redress to their congressmen, asking them
> to stop the war. (This is the sole freedom of speech guaranteed by law
> to active-duty soldiers). No general officer has signed one. The excuse
> they use for waiting until they retire to say how fucked-up they thought
> everything was is that serving commanders need to keep their opinions to
> themselves. Funny thing is, that hasn't stopped a bunch of 'em from
> shooting their yaps off about how much the armed forces are being hurt
> by letting in those godamn homos.

Doesn't the declaration of war for purposes overtly and widely
acknowledged as criminal date back at least six or seven centuries?

IIRC the Albigensian Crusade was declared by a pope because Europe had
way, waaay too many armed knights wandering around, their having been
kicked out of Outremer, and because their primary means of payment for
services was the right of pillage. They were wandering around stealing
anything that wasn't nailed down, something to which they'd grown
accustomed in the Holy Land. The Europeans were getting a bit peeved,
and wanted them to go kill and rob somebody else.

So... pick a group of Europeans who were non-Christians, then turn the
knights loose on them. To quote Mr. Perot, problem solved. The knights
have people to kill and rob, they stay out of everyone else's hair. As a
fringe benefit, all the adherents of the predominant religion in Southern
France, which at that time was not Christianity, are killed. [1]

It's less surprising that Gen. Butler was willing to point this out than
that any number of other high-ranking members of the American military
have not done so. There are a few bad apples in that lot, as anywhere,
but most of them are pretty bright, objective, and honest folks. Like
most Americans, they don't like being implicated in what would be, within
our own borders, a felony.

Perhaps, Bill, you're being a bit hard on them. Soldiers' duty, first
and foremost, is to carry out the orders of their commanding officers.
As soldiers they must do so, even if as citizens they exercise their
right to complain about the rest of us having hired a certifiable moron
to be their Commander in Chief.

Like Gen. Butler, I think our homes and our Bill of Rights are two of the
most important of our possessions. Our soldiers signed up to protect
those things. That's why, when voting time comes around, I encourage
people not to hire as CEO for our Government and Commander and Chief for
our soldiers whom we'd be embarrassed to have giving orders to some of
America's best (and worst paid) people.

We don't have a very good record for that, do we? If America's personnel
department, us voters, worked for a private company then they'd have long
since fired us for incompetence.

-- RLW

[1] Remember the line from the movie, "Kill them all and let God sort
them out"? Its original form, "Kill them all. God will recognize his
own" was the local Bishop's instruction to one of the officers who asked
how to tell "heretic" from faithful. At the time, he was "the decider".

 

On Dec 1, 7:13 pm, RLW <rlwatk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 23:28:12 -0800, Bill Cleere wrote:
> >> > From writings of General Smedley Butler, the last American soldier to
> >> > be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor twice
>
> >> > **********
>
> >> > "War is a Racket" (1935)
>
> >> > War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as
> >> > something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a
> >> > small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the
> >> > benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
> >> <etc.>
> > On Nov 25, 1:37 pm, mimus <tinmimu...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >> Not a widely-taught title in US public schools, I imagine.
> On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:02:51 -0800, Bill Cleere wrote:
> > No, that sort of unpatriotic talk coming from a decorated Marine general
> > would not be fitting for the ears of impressionable young Americans.
>
> > The interesting thing is that Smedley Butler was not silenced or
> > punished. He was simply ignored. Even the Congressional Committee
> > which agreed that the Fascist plot to overthrow the United States which
> > Butler reported was real swept it under the carpet as soon as possible.
>
> > As for our current generals...they are the most gutless lot imaginable.
> > More than 2,000 serving private soldiers and lower-ranking officers have
> > signed official Petitions for Redress to their congressmen, asking them
> > to stop the war. (This is the sole freedom of speech guaranteed by law
> > to active-duty soldiers). No general officer has signed one. The excuse
> > they use for waiting until they retire to say how fucked-up they thought
> > everything was is that serving commanders need to keep their opinions to
> > themselves. Funny thing is, that hasn't stopped a bunch of 'em from
> > shooting their yaps off about how much the armed forces are being hurt
> > by letting in those godamn homos.
>
> Doesn't the declaration of war for purposes overtly and widely
> acknowledged as criminal date back at least six or seven centuries?

I don't know the history (or, to be more accurate, I'm sure I did,
and have forgotten.) It was debated in excruciating detail
during the latter years of World War II by those responsible
for preparing the treatment of the German leaders. They
paid a great deal of attention to historical precedent.

> IIRC the Albigensian Crusade was declared by a pope because Europe had
> way, waaay too many armed knights wandering around, their having been
> kicked out of Outremer, and because their primary means of payment for
> services was the right of pillage. They were wandering around stealing
> anything that wasn't nailed down, something to which they'd grown
> accustomed in the Holy Land. The Europeans were getting a bit peeved,
> and wanted them to go kill and rob somebody else.
>
> So... pick a group of Europeans who were non-Christians, then turn the
> knights loose on them. To quote Mr. Perot, problem solved. The knights
> have people to kill and rob, they stay out of everyone else's hair. As a
> fringe benefit, all the adherents of the predominant religion in Southern
> France, which at that time was not Christianity, are killed. [1]

There is still a great deal we don't know about what those people
actually *did* believe. Some felt themselves to be true Christians.
Others (apparently including the leadership, the "parfaits", were
more or less outright heretics by the standards of the Church,
and in their own minds.) And of course we have our modern
theorists who believe that what the Pope and the secular
powers were really after was the "Cathar Treasure" and/or
the secret of the bloodline of the Little Lord Joozis.

> It's less surprising that Gen. Butler was willing to point this out than
> that any number of other high-ranking members of the American military
> have not done so. There are a few bad apples in that lot, as anywhere,
> but most of them are pretty bright, objective, and honest folks. Like
> most Americans, they don't like being implicated in what would be, within
> our own borders, a felony.

I don't know....look at that Pace character. He didn't have any
problem as an active duty commander giving his personal
opinion about homosexuals, in spite of official policy. He
wasn't prohibited from speaking out, and he's not legally
prohibited from expressing a personal opinion that the War
in Iraq is a Racket.

I'm sorry, I can't see him as one of a few bad apples. I think
there are a few good ones, and most are just time-servers or
worse. Look at Petraeus. By all accounts he's not stupid.
But he got where he is by ambition and self-promotion.
His roomate at West Point said the common joke about
him was that his single-minded goal was to marry the
Commandant's daughter.

As Solzhenitsyn said, "Beware the man with a Career..."

> Perhaps, Bill, you're being a bit hard on them. Soldiers' duty, first
> and foremost, is to carry out the orders of their commanding officers.
> As soldiers they must do so, even if as citizens they exercise their
> right to complain about the rest of us having hired a certifiable moron
> to be their Commander in Chief.

When they're not under fire, they could fight more forcefully
for sanity. Might blot their copybooks, but I don't think
they would be violating their oaths.

> Like Gen. Butler, I think our homes and our Bill of Rights are two of the
> most important of our possessions. Our soldiers signed up to protect
> those things. That's why, when voting time comes around, I encourage
> people not to hire as CEO for our Government and Commander and Chief for
> our soldiers whom we'd be embarrassed to have giving orders to some of
> America's best (and worst paid) people.

They will, though. They will. The Republicans will scare them into
it.
They'll vote for Rudy because he'll protect them. And you can be good
and godamn sure that something's going to go down before the election
that will get their attention.

The only reason they didn't stage a Reichstag Fire to cancel
the mid-term elections is that they didn't see their loss of
Congress coming until it was too late. They won't make that
mistake again.
>
> We don't have a very good record for that, do we? If America's personnel
> department, us voters, worked for a private company then they'd have long
> since fired us for incompetence.
>
> -- RLW
>
> [1] Remember the line from the movie, "Kill them all and let God sort
> them out"? Its original form, "Kill them all. God will recognize his
> own" was the local Bishop's instruction to one of the officers who asked
> how to tell "heretic" from faithful. At the time, he was "the decider".

-- Bill Cleere

"I prefer the pleasure of writing bits of nonsense to that of wearing
an embroidered coat which costs 800 francs." (Stendhal)