Mediaboss Marketing

The generals asked President Trump for a surge of 5,000 troops for Afghanistan, Americas 16-year-long lost war. But the buck doesnt stop at the Trump White House. Trump told the generals, "You decide." The White House gave the go-ahead for another surge.

"Only" 5,000 troops, supposedly to help the peace process. Kill and bomb more people to encourage people to negotiate for peace. Do you believe it?

We Americans are persistent. But when it comes to wars, we exhibit perseveration, defined as the inappropriate persistence or repetition of a thought or action.

Repetition of thoughts. Example: War is the answer to all diplomatic problems. Repetition of actions. Example: We accept lie after lie from our presidents, pushing us into wars.

In Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, tens of thousands of Americans have died, along with millions of Asian and Middle Eastern people. One lying president after another tells us the sky is falling. Its the commies, the horrible dictators, the treacherous religious terrorists.

By late 1967, when the surge of American troops was really building in Vietnam, President Lyndon Johnson knew the war was a loser, as did Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, but both continued to lie and lie. And people continued to die and die.

These politicians arent really interested in communists or terrorists. Politicians want the oil, gas, copper, tin, titanium, or markets for their 1 percenter corporate friends. They know war is good for their political careers. And they will be rewarded by a grateful military-industrial complex. Walmart, GM and so many others do hundreds of billions worth of business with the commies in China and Vietnam without a blink of the eye.

The oil-soaked Middle East dictatorships like Saudi Arabia and Qatar fund the schooling, training and operations of religious terrorists, yet these dictators are our buddies buying billions in American weapons systems. Simultaneously, we send our youth to fight the religious terrorists that our CIA with President Jimmy Carters approval started funding, training and equipping in Afghanistan (Mujahideen and Osama bin Laden). We and the Saudis created and funded religious terrorists to fight the Russians there in 1979 and since 2001 our soldiers have been trying to defeat them for 16 years. And our military-industrial complex makes money providing weapons to both sides.

We have bled our soldiers and other peoples of their blood. We have bled our nation of trillions of dollars that should have been spent building a better life for all Americans. War profiteers, CEOs and share owners make hundreds of billions while the under-funded Veterans Affairs hospitals try to take care of all our physically, mentally and morally crushed soldiers. And military families pay the highest price of all: dead and damaged loved ones.

These are illegal wars of aggression illegal. Our Constitution requires the Congress to declare war on a nation. That has not been done for any of the wars since 2001. The United Nations Charter permits a nation to respond to an attack by another nation. The USA has not been attacked by any nation. 9/11 was a criminal gang attack not an attack upon us by Afghanistan. Under treaties signed by the USA, illegal war is the greatest crime, because all other crimes will then be committed: murder, torture, rape, starvation, theft, religious, political or sexual persecution, genocide, repression. Everything imaginable takes place during war.

Today, after 16 years of destroying Afghanistan, we need to get out, not send more troops!

We must admit that in the current wars, we are on the side of the gangsters, drug kings, murderous militias, dictators, torturers and power-hungry religious fanatics.

What weve done in these countries has not worked. Our wars and weapons have pushed these countries from bad to worse. Millions are homeless and refugees. Their hatred will last decades or centuries.

We need to admit our failures to the United Nations and ask the UN to conduct peace negotiations in each nation. We must support those negotiations, pay the costs, withdraw all our troops and military equipment, stop the bombings and drone attacks, and stop the surveillance and training assistance.

Citizens, we must support the rule of law rather than the rule of empire or whim. We must not accept more lying and corruption.

We must impeach those presidents and generals who have led these illegal wars, and make them examples of what America will do when elected leaders and generals forsake their oaths to preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and when they betray the American people.

We must stop creating wars, and stop supplying weapons to all sides. We must request the UN take leadership in trying to peacefully resolve the quagmire we have helped create.

Buzz Davis, formerly of Stoughton now of Tucson, was trained as an infantry officer during the Vietnam War and served in South Korea. Hes a longtime progressive activist, a member of Veterans for Peace, a former VISTA volunteer, elected official, union organizer, impeachment organizer, a former VP of WI Alliance for Retired Americans and a retired state government planner. dbuzzdavis@aol.com

Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.

Go here to read the rest:
Buzz Davis: Admit defeat in Afghanistan and engage the United Nations - Madison.com