Sunday 12 July 2009

The Elephant in the Armoured Personnel Carrier

Just as a complete ignorance of economics is practically a requirement for anyone appearing on British TV or Radio News, there is one thesis on armed conflict between states that will never even get a mention on the mainstream media.

That thesis was outlined in a pamphlet called "War Is A Racket". It was written by US Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler before the outbreak of World War Two.

Apparently, John Humphries hasn't read "War is a Racket". Neither has Jeremy Paxman. Actually, no-one on TV or Radio is willing to ask about the "Elephant in the Armoured Personnel Carrier". I wonder why?

In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows. How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?

Do "our boys" need some new expensive kit? To fight the terrorists and keep the world safe for democracy so that Afghan girls can go to school? Money is no object. Hang the cost. Sacrifices must be made. Shut up and keep paying!

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