Jane Perlez of the New York Times has written an article posted there today called "Pakistan Army Is Said to Be Linked to Many Killings in Swat " Try and remember, these people are our allies! These are the people, this is the government, we are supporting against the Taliban. Why is this important that we know this?
Because American veterans need to know that young American troops are once again supporting a government that kills its own people. Once again, as two time Medal of Honor recipient and Marine Corps major general Smedley Butler warned us in the 1930s, we are the bad guys. American troops are being used in typical American fashion, to bolster the overseas financial position of America’s wealthy elite and protect their interests in ways that are never fully and openly delineated to the people who are paying for it (that would be us). We are using our troops in support of a government of thugs. Again.
Now, this is not news. We do this everyday.
But I ask you, when are we going to tire of it?
Are we ever going to tire of it?
Why not?
Nothing is going to change, ever, unless America’s veterans and other interested parties demand a full financial accounting of every single overseas military adventure we wage. No more "black budget" nonsense to hide these things. We want to know where our money is going. It is the only way to keep our government even semi-democratic. It is the only way to save innocent lives.
In my view, American veterans must lead the way here. Because nobody else has the chutzpa to do this on a routine basis. That should really be our mission on many days and it will give us great power.
We need to start demanding line item accounting of every overseas military adventure and military industrial complex boondoggle that we support. That would be virtually all of them.
It is the only way to stop this madness.
CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)
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