PENTAGON PACKED WITH POLITICAL EXTREMISTS AND
DEFENSE CONTRACTOR PUPPETS NEEDS SANITIZING
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER
DEFINING THE PROBLEM
For 8 years, the Pentagon has been much like the Gonzales “Justice Department.” Officers loyal to the Constitution of the United States of America have been replaced by those loyal to Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, idiotic war planning, defective weapons and the concept of a military willing to war against American citizens if asked.
Several thousand officers have openly violated their oaths and the UCMJ thru open political activity, cozying up to military contractors and “palling around” with extremist groups. The result has been the replacement of competent and independent leadership with religious and social extremists whose ideas and beliefs are “off center” and quite “unAmerican.”
The military has never been a democracy. Established on a British model, derived from feudal traditions, the separation of officers and enlisted has been artificially enhanced but usually overridden by the powerful corps of non commissioned officers whose knowledge and professionalism continues to hold things together even in a military run by political hacks.
It’s time to dust off the loyalty tests of the 1950’s and rebuild our military. 8 years of military awards, promotions and the insidious network of relationships between military contractors, religious and political extremists and our officer corps must be examined. Loyalty to America and making her secure and safe has to replace “moving up the ladder” and riding the gravy train.
WW2 AND THE PENTAGON, A HISTORICAL CONTEXT
There is considerable historical backing for a clean up of this kind. General George Marshall, top US commander during WW2, fired, retired and demoted thousands of worthless officers at the beginning of the war. Marine Corps Commandant General Smedley Butler was actually put under house arrest on Quantico for criticizing Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini. The Pentagon had gotten so filled with Hitler and Mussolini supporters that any leader, no matter how decorated (Butler is one of America’s greatest military heroes) speaking up against the Nazi’s faced arrest.
American officers and defense contractors had been flocking to Nazi Germany to teach them dive bombing techniques, coordination of ground and air forces and other skills that would make Blitzkrieg the terror of the world. American bankers and defense contractors flooded Nazi Germany with money to support their “conservative values” and rebuild their war industries while raking in huge profits. The names involved were Ford, Dupont, Bush, Lindbergh, Rockefeller, Harriman and dozens just as famous. Many of the companies are still around also. They are still building our weapons but also still seem to have kept their old ideas about “freedom”.
When General Marshall (known best for the Marshall Plan that saved Europe from Communism) and his aid Eisenhower had to clean the dullards and Nazis out of the Pentagon in 1940-41, they faced a daunting task. We were going into a war with less than a handfull of qualified generals and admirals.
The history of this era is the greatest story in the military annals of the United States. We beat the most powerful military machine the world had known led by a “liberal” wheelchair bound president, FDR, a failed haberdasher, Truman and a military rebuilt by Marshall with leaders like Eisenhower (a LTC at the beginnig of the war, 5 star general 4 years later) Bradley, McCain, Halsey, Nimitz, Bradley, Patton, Vandergrift, Leahy, King, Arnold and hundreds of others, many risen from total obscurity.
Even with these great leaders, throughout the entire war substandard leaders cropped up with disastrous results, in both the European and Pacific theatres. Examination of the Anzio landings and controversy over General Mark Clark’s performance shows the risks involved. The History Channel has a series on Military Blunders. It is well worth watching.
THE POWERFUL CHAPLAIN CORPS, “NEOCON CRUSADERS”
The influence of the Chaplain Corps of the military has increased dramatically under current “right wing” leadership. Chaplains, often taking orders directly from the Vatican or “flat earth” evangelical groups tied to the Republican Party have been more and more involved in pressing an agenda advocating military involvement in domestic politics and foreign policy. Always supporting aggressive war against Islam, this group’s influence over a military leadership that has operated well outside constitutional limits has been a major danger to America and her friends and allies.
This theory is called “dominionism” and is almost identical in belief system to the most radical and militarist sects of Islam. That this group controls the Chaplains Corps and key officers like Lt. General Boykin, former Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, front for these fanatics is frightening. Boykin, involved in mercenary activities, torture advocate and known for “palling around” with Nixonite Pat Buchanan, has a long and sorted history of misuse of influence and office.
With many military “padres” speaking at neocon events and submitting articles to Republican blogs, some Pentagon and defense industry funded, continual violations of US law, officer’s oaths and Constitutional limits have occurred. Their continual use of the pulpit to characterize all moderate views or dissent as “anti-American” and “pro-terrorist” while, at the same time, following “talking points” from Karl Rove, has made this group a dangerous tool of the extremist groups rejected by America in the last election.
Hijacking Christs teaching to promote a private agenda has a long tradition. That our Chaplain Corps find its inspiration in the Inquisition and Crusades rather than the Gospels is sad.
SERVICE ACADEMIES, BREEDING GROUND FOR EXTREMISM
For generations, our service academies have been a source for heroic leaders and two presidents, Grant and Eisenhower. To a greater extent, however, the service academies have fostered a feeling of separation from “non-ring wearers” in the military, especially those much more qualified and skilled, and traditional democratic values that America is built on.
Representing a privileged cult within the military and educated under conditions meant to value “not getting caught” as much as “duty, honor and country” service academies have done as much to undermine our military as support it. Creating a privileged elite that is promoted and often even protected based on “connections, rather than merit and achievement has often been the biggest stumbling block in the history of our military services. Academy grads are often protected from combat due to cronyism and rushed into staff positions with misleading resumes loaded with fiction. Ritual hazing, date rape and bed making skills are hardly qualifications for leadership. Perhaps it is time for us to “move on”.
The long history the academies have had for sexual, racial and religious discrimination along with protecting grossly substandard and incompetent admissions with the proper connections, read “McCain”, increasingly makes then an anachronism.
PUNDITS, BLOGGERS AND “THE PENTAGON CHANNEL”
Recently it was brought to the public that part of the military budget earmarked for defense was spent paying retired officers, all of whom are members of the Republican Party, to appear on TV, write for newspapers and contribute to internet blogs in support of policies, some of which were entirely partisan and political in nature. None of these connections were disclosed to the public or authored by law, resulting in false and misleading stories being submitted to the news media and virtual control of many aspects of the press by the military without Congressional authorization. This is a criminal act and clearly unconstitutional. Things like this only happen in dictatorships.
At the same time, the Armed Forces Network and Pentagon Channel continually engaged in a partisan ‘disinformation campaign’ supporting Bush administration policies in opposition of elected Congressional leadership and openly sided with the Republican party by promoting its candidates in election after election, often thru false and misleading stories or blatant propaganda, all with public funds intended to defend our country. Political attacks on opposition party candidates were much of the programming fed to our troops in the field with the only alternative voice that of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, sources now found to have been also reporting from the same “talking points” that guided the Pentagon disinformation system.
Not one serving officer in the US military spoke up about these abuses. However, hundreds of officers actively participated, often to the extent planning and executing military operations based on political expediency with disastrous results as history shows.
American soldiers have, for years, been bombarded with partisan political propaganda, lies, half lies and religious and extremist views. Every effort has been made to make our troops feel isolated from the American people, betrayed and abandoned. The resulting alienation could well be a contributing factor to the massive number of adjustment problems our new veterans are having with suicides and psychiatric disorders reaching epic proportions.
THE REVOLVING DOOR, JUNK WEAPONS AND ENDLESS WAR
To a real combat veteran, sleeping on a snow covered ridge in Afghanistan, the distance between him and the “rubber chicken” circuit in Washington seems greater than the distance from Cleveland to the center of the universe. The rarified air of private hunting preserves, embassy balls, exclusive country clubs is only a backdrop for a culture of corruption designed to turn anyone stepping into the “beltway” arena from righteous crusader to fawning lackey in months.
With the scattered wreckage of the destroyed careers of dozens of top officers who opposed the fiasco in Iraq as a backdrop, anyone moving into the corridors of power is is confronted with moral decisions. The choice is oblivion, joining the spineless majority growing wealthy and powerful taking backhanders from oil companies, defense contractors and choice assignments from the “Pentagon Princes” or being passed over for promotion.
Whether supporting the purchase of defective body armour, missile systems that couldn’t hit the side of a barn or amphibious landing craft obsolete 50 years before the first prototypes were billions over budget, “getting your share” of the trillion dollar yearly boondoggle we call our Defense Budget is the rule for the day.
None of this would be possible without global destabilization. Failing to notice a pattern of both diplomatic and military policies designed to isolate American and empower her enemies requires a moral flexibility only bushels of cash can bring about. “Looking the other way” is a start. Accepting and passing on “talking points” follows. Getting the snout into the trough is always the last step and with it, the last vestiges of humanity and honor fall away.
SOLUTIONS
A systematic review of all officers in our military services who have had direct ties to political and religious organizations or who have misused their influence in the procurement process must immediately be implemented.
All honors, awards, promotions and assignments awarded for misconduct need to be addressed thru the existing UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) Reviews of all actions, from illegal political activity, propaganda, distortion of intelligence reports, fraud and misfeasance/malfeasance leading to prosecutions must be a top priority. A review of political petitions, “urban legend” attack emails and other violations is a good start for a “naughty” list.
A full assessment of the professional competence of all officers is a must. The most obvious crooks and blundering fools need to be isolated as quickly as possible. Returning officers to duty who were forced into retirement for failing to keep silent to abuse and corruption will give us the leaders we immediately need.
Immediate removal of all “political commissars” from the service academies, chaplains service, intelligence organizations and procurement organizations needs to follow as soon as possible. Teaching privilege without service has become a norm. Making the truth subject to policy is another. Perhaps narrowing our definition of “honor” would help. Do we really want to discuss “sacrifice?”
The goal will be to create a culture of excellence and professionalism to replace the corruption and cronyism that has been allowed to infect the military as it has become an arm of a failed political movement at odds with American values and Constitutional freedoms. If thousands of “hacks” have to be fired, retired or demoted to give us the armed forces we need and deserve, there is no time to waste.
Gordon Duff is a Marine Vietnam veteran and regular contributor on political and social issues.
Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.
Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
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