War Is A Racket By Major General Smedley Butler

Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
Originally published January 16, 2011

numoleen on March 11, 2009

War is a Racket by Smedley Butler is a famous speech denouncing the military industrial complex. This anti-war speech by two-time Congressional Medal of Honor recipient exposes war profits that benefit few at the expense of many. Throughout his distinguished career in the Marines, Smedley Darlington Butler demonstrated that true patriotism does not mean blind allegiance to government policies with which one does not agree. To Hell with war.

Smedley, Ike and Me: Anyone Listening, America? by Philip A. Farruggio

by Philip A. Farruggio
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
May 19, 2012

Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr

In 1935, a book was published, War Is a Racket , by retired Marine General Smedley Butler. In this brief book Butler embellishes his belief that our nation’s foreign policy was controlled and manipulated by private corporate interests… all in the name of greed. Wars, invasions and occupations by our military, according to General Butler, were all predicated on the desire for profit by corporations. He himself called his past life as a Marine general as being a gangster for these private industrial interests. He used WW1 as an example of who made the profits for our military being sent ‘Over there’. Apparently, most of our American public at that time could not care less for what Smedley Butler was selling.

War is a Racket by Smedley Butler

Dandelion Salad

A picture of a double medal of honor recipient. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

numoleen | March 11, 2009

War is a Racket by Smedley Butler is a famous speech denouncing the military industrial complex. This anti-war speech by two-time Congressional Medal of Honor recipient exposes war profits that benefit few at the expense of many. Throughout his distinguished career in the Marines, Smedley Darlington Butler demonstrated that true patriotism does not mean blind allegiance to government policies with which one does not agree. To Hell with war.