The new face of war
It’s not comforting to realize, but since our entry into World War II in 1941 we Americans seem to be in a war of some kind almost half the time. As a result we have become progressively hardened, calloused and insensitive to the horrors of armed conflict. For us war has almost become a way of life. Even during periodic peace interludes we wonder “When is the next one coming?” Or “Will this be the Big One?”
Our founding fathers were aware of the financial drain and the political risks involved in maintaining a professional standing army. Quite by necessity, I suppose, that’s what we have today. But this new arrangement insulates us from many of the costs of war, material and human. Since we abandoned the military draft it’s no longer the boy next door getting killed in action. It’s more likely an anonymous face in the newspaper, even black or with a Hispanic surname. The casualty lists no longer affect us as they once did when they were closer to home.
In his 1961 farewell address President Eisenhower warned of the inherent dangers from the “military–industrial complex,” a consortium of defense industry executives and high–ranking military staff officers who control the Defense Department’s purchasing. But author Andrew Bacevich, a history professor and retired army career officer, wonders that if he considered this an imminent concern, why did Ike wait until three days before leaving office to inform us?
Relatively few Americans in this new era of a professional military establishment are affected personally or financially by the wars undertaken in their names. In the past, wars have usually required substantial personal and financial sacrifices including sizeable tax increases. But after the 9/11 attacks George W. mindlessly encouraged us to go shopping, gave us a tax cut to pay for it and funded the Iraq war on the cuff. He is our only president to declare war and cut taxes in the same year. We swapped “tax and spend Democrats” for “borrow and spend Republicans.”
By any measurement we now have the most powerful military force the world has ever seen; greater than the next nine nations combined and almost four times more powerful than our nearest rival, China. Whereas the U. S. has more than ten aircraft carriers, China has only one, and that one out of date. Excluding Marine embassy detachments, we still have over 500 military bases around the world. And how can we justify over 50,000 American troops on 32 bases in Germany, the wealthiest and most powerful nation in NATO? We have a similar situation in Japan, but on a smaller scale. This is a classic exercise in overkill-overspend.
From the Greeks to the British Empire, all former world hegemonic powers have eventually fallen, mostly from imperialistic overstretch. Although our fixation on American exceptionalism might lead us to believe otherwise, God will not grant us immunity from the inevitable forces of history.
George B. Reed Jr., who lives in Rossville, can be reached by email at reed1600@bellsouth.net.