Screenshot by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
See video below
TheRealNews on Aug 21, 2017
After 16 years and over a trillion dollars’ worth of fighting, the U.S. has accomplished none of its stated goals–except the goal of enriching the flourishing military-industrial complex.
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Updated: Aug. 22, 2017
State Dept. Official Who Quit in 2009 over U.S. War in Afghanistan Speaks Out on Trump’s Troop Surge
Democracy Now! on Aug 22, 2017
https://democracynow.org – President Trump has announced plans to escalate the U.S. war in Afghanistan—already the longest war in U.S. history. While Trump offered few specifics during his prime-time address Monday night, he has reportedly already signed off on a plan to send about 4,000 more troops to Afghanistan. For more we speak with Matthew Hoh, who resigned from the State Department in 2009 over the Obama administration’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan. Prior to his assignment in Afghanistan, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan including time as a Marine Corps company commander in Anbar Province.
from the archives:
Am I an American Supremacist? by Adele Roof
The 16 Year War in Afghanistan – Headlines Tell the Story by Ralph Nader
David Swanson: The Case for Abolishing War + Transcript
Chris Hedges and Matthew Hoh: Afghanistan War Keeps Going Because the Money Keeps Flowing In
The Losing Warfare State by Ralph Nader
War Is A Racket By Major General Smedley Butler
Matthew Hoh: Taliban is not a threat to the US, it is a threat to the Karzai Government
Dandelion Salad 
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Matthew Hoh says it succinctly ~ war is one continual lie. However, despite Sunzi’s widely recognized methodology, a deeper question remains. Why wage war in the first place? What is its real purpose or moral intent? What is the philosophical and existential rationale behind warfare. What does it actually mean?
The simple answer to that, once the argument for self-defense is allowed, is that it is about (ethical) “conquest.” It follows therefore, that there must be something or someone to ‘conquer.’ What might that be? If you are a (genuine) Muslim, the response may be ~ oneself.
The problem with American (fake) wars is that they never end, they have no purpose; they have no goal. They are spurious pretexts for (over-)reaction. There is nothing spiritual about this murderous US empire. It is a morally destitute rag and bone shop ~ a pathetic, opportunist charade. For any legitimate Temple to stand, it must be founded upon incorruptible Truths (ie ‘Divine’ or purest principles) not falsehood. Its cornerstone must be perfect ~ hence the enduring fascination with (free-)Masonic metaphors.
So, another way of understanding war, both metaphysically and literally is to recognize that it is fundamentally about the conquest of ignorance; therefore, it follows that its positive aim must be enlightenment. A dressed-up ignoramus pretending (or presuming) to wage a ‘moral’ war ~ especially if accompanied by other self-congratulatory, (arguably psychopathic) applauding narcissists ~ is an absurdity; a preposterous self-contradictory conceit, of dire criminal proportions.
Thanks for your commentary, David.
You’re always so very welcome Lo; your posts on DS never fail to stimulate and challenge because they address & explore the most essential, fundamental questions & issues…..
Why thank you, David. And your commentary adds so much, too.