Get 'Em

Trey Smith

In the past decade, the U.S. and/or Israel have invaded, air attacked, and/or occupied Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (to say nothing of the creation of a worldwide torture regime, a system of “black site” prisons around the world to which people were disappeared, and a due-process-free detention camp in the middle of the Caribbean Ocean where many people remain encaged for almost a full decade without charges). During this same time period, Iran has not invaded, occupied or air attacked anyone. Iran, to be sure, is domestically oppressive, but no more so — and in many cases less — than the multiple regimes funded, armed and otherwise propped up by the U.S. during this period. Those are all just facts.

But — despite all of these facts — all Serious people in the U.S. know that Iran is the Aggressor, the Modern Nazis, a True Menace, while the U.S. and Israel are its innocent peace-loving victims.
~ from George Orwell on the Evil Iranian Menace by Glenn Greenwald ~

Why is it that modern nations like the US must have one or more stated enemies? I don't think you can look back over our long illustrious history to a time when we didn't have at least one official adversary. As soon as we dispatch with one so-called opposer, we immediately conjure up a new bad guy.

The answer, of course, is found in the realm of economics. War -- whether an active one or a potential one -- is good for business. The corporations that develop and manufacture weapons of death and destruction love the transfusions of taxpayer dollars they regularly receive. It is their lifeblood and so the thought of genuine peace is a threat to their bloated bottom lines.

We always hear about how smart and ingenious the titans of industry are. We hear grand stories of how they started with nothing and, through determination and savvy, they built their companies from the ground up. While there may be some truth to these stories, many of these titans became rich because of our nation's predilection for war. The seeds of their massive fortunes come directly from the taxpayers pockets.

The last thing these folks want is for the golden spigot to be turned off. If it ever was, many fortunes would be lost in no time at all. And so, it is in their financial best interests to push for the creation of enemies and the perpetual state of potential war. By doing so, the gravy train will keep streaming along at breakneck speed.