Here's my take on that document. The eggheads were a little behind the times in stating these things. Technology, and motivations for implementing that technology, occurred well before the Gulf War. My experiences, and Rubicon's experiences, between the end of Vietnam and the 1st Gulf War entailed massive amounts of technology driven killing in what the eggheads term "RMA" (which reminds me of the old joke that everything to do with the military involves acronyms). These RMAs, which I prefer to call proxy or secret/hidden war, undeclared conflicts & undeclared actions , whether fought by US forces on behalf of, or in support of, for "strategic" objectives, are a dangerous co-opting of the power of the Citizenry, both US and foreign Citizens. They freely admit that these RMAs go against American values;, yet they seem unaware that these RMAs have been going on repeatedly, not just since WW2, but since the founding of the republic. The mini-ball with rifled barrels that caused so much Civil War and Indian Wars death was considered a huge technological achievement, and the slaughter of native Americans which was kept from, or propagandized to, Citizens. The problems with this analysis are threefold. 1) It's a "day late and a dollar short". These RMAs have been recurring as I said for a VERY long time (this is something addressed in X Rubicon); 2) "post Cold War"; 3) Their premise starts (because they're good military lifers) is that "others" are the "terrorists" and instigators of bad faith. They are fully invested in anti-communist rhetoric, and they do something of a straw-man setup right from the beginning, quoting Russians "recognizing" the computer assisted targeting that has been going on since Vietnam (and before if you include rockets, heat seeking missiles, radar guided missiles, etc...). They go on to accept as fact that 3rd world regimes who are/were "pro-Western" are legitimate and only seek peace and development for all (albeit based ONLY upon strict and cruel capitalism which includes murder and theft). I would encourage you to read about Rubicon's experiences with the CIA, DoDIA, and USAF/military in these 3rd world countries such as Colombia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, & Guatemala. Both Rubicon and I were considered "counter-insurgency assets". The two authors of the piece are devout military enthusiasts teaching at the Army War College, and to me it's a marker of what has led the US so far astray. One person's "terrorist" or "rebel" is often a freedom fighter against oppression, which the US deals out in spades; and a neat trick of government policy is to label oppressors freedom fighters (ala Reagan). I feel like I'm getting verbose, but here's how the issue is brought up in X Rubicon, Crossing Rubicons: "The vast majority of Americans are unaware of the activities of the US in foreign nations. We know about major wars and conflicts – those that are declared or at least discussed. We don’t know about American history when it comes to interventions based upon corporate needs, or those conflicts based upon politics, ideology, or corporate need tied to ideology. These are termed Undeclared Actions or Undeclared Conflicts. They are undeclared for a simple reason: they are shameful displays of which most Americans would not approve. The vast majority of Americans, believing that no military conflicts exist outside of Congress’ say so, are totally unaware that the US has been involved in Undeclared Conflicts and Actions almost non-stop since the supposed end of WW2. This ignorance must end."
i am reading your book right now.
Thanks.
Just saw this. I'll look at it tomorrow & get back to you.
Here's my take on that document. The eggheads were a little behind the times in stating these things. Technology, and motivations for implementing that technology, occurred well before the Gulf War. My experiences, and Rubicon's experiences, between the end of Vietnam and the 1st Gulf War entailed massive amounts of technology driven killing in what the eggheads term "RMA" (which reminds me of the old joke that everything to do with the military involves acronyms). These RMAs, which I prefer to call proxy or secret/hidden war, undeclared conflicts & undeclared actions , whether fought by US forces on behalf of, or in support of, for "strategic" objectives, are a dangerous co-opting of the power of the Citizenry, both US and foreign Citizens. They freely admit that these RMAs go against American values;, yet they seem unaware that these RMAs have been going on repeatedly, not just since WW2, but since the founding of the republic. The mini-ball with rifled barrels that caused so much Civil War and Indian Wars death was considered a huge technological achievement, and the slaughter of native Americans which was kept from, or propagandized to, Citizens. The problems with this analysis are threefold. 1) It's a "day late and a dollar short". These RMAs have been recurring as I said for a VERY long time (this is something addressed in X Rubicon); 2) "post Cold War"; 3) Their premise starts (because they're good military lifers) is that "others" are the "terrorists" and instigators of bad faith. They are fully invested in anti-communist rhetoric, and they do something of a straw-man setup right from the beginning, quoting Russians "recognizing" the computer assisted targeting that has been going on since Vietnam (and before if you include rockets, heat seeking missiles, radar guided missiles, etc...). They go on to accept as fact that 3rd world regimes who are/were "pro-Western" are legitimate and only seek peace and development for all (albeit based ONLY upon strict and cruel capitalism which includes murder and theft). I would encourage you to read about Rubicon's experiences with the CIA, DoDIA, and USAF/military in these 3rd world countries such as Colombia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, & Guatemala. Both Rubicon and I were considered "counter-insurgency assets". The two authors of the piece are devout military enthusiasts teaching at the Army War College, and to me it's a marker of what has led the US so far astray. One person's "terrorist" or "rebel" is often a freedom fighter against oppression, which the US deals out in spades; and a neat trick of government policy is to label oppressors freedom fighters (ala Reagan). I feel like I'm getting verbose, but here's how the issue is brought up in X Rubicon, Crossing Rubicons: "The vast majority of Americans are unaware of the activities of the US in foreign nations. We know about major wars and conflicts – those that are declared or at least discussed. We don’t know about American history when it comes to interventions based upon corporate needs, or those conflicts based upon politics, ideology, or corporate need tied to ideology. These are termed Undeclared Actions or Undeclared Conflicts. They are undeclared for a simple reason: they are shameful displays of which most Americans would not approve. The vast majority of Americans, believing that no military conflicts exist outside of Congress’ say so, are totally unaware that the US has been involved in Undeclared Conflicts and Actions almost non-stop since the supposed end of WW2. This ignorance must end."