Here is the best geopolitical analysis I’ve read in a long time: “The Craziest Thing I’ve Read In A Very Long Time“, Michael Cohen, Democracy Arsenal, 13 August 2010. His conclusion is what I’ve said for many years: “I read things like this and I really start to believe that the entire foreign policy community has completely lost its mind.”
But that conclusion is wrong, as are similar statements on this website. Our geopolitical experts advocate war for hard-headed reasons. For good reason Eisenhower warned of the military-industrial complex. Like any large beast, it requires massive spending to thrive — to feed the bureaucracies and defense contractors, and fan voters’ fears to helps conservatives get elected (those that use this method, which is not all of them of course).
The senior echelons in the departments of Defense and Homeland Security — and their helpers in the media and think-tanks — exist to maintain the flow of funds, in some way.
Everybody involved in this game works their rice bowl. Few or none have lost their minds. We cannot change the situation until we understand that harsh reality.
Posts about our geopolitical experts
- The advocates for the Af-pak war demonstrate their bankruptcy. Will the American public notice?, 1 September 2009
- A new reason to kill thousands of people? Stay tuned for the answer!, 24 September 2009
- The three kinds of advocacy for the Af-Pak War, 15 October 2009
- Can we defeat our almost imaginary enemies?, 10 December 2009
- Another example of war advocates working their rice bowls, 24 December 2009
- Think-tanks bribe journalists to promote our wars, 24 December 2009
- Another sad little bit of agitprop, this time from John Nagl, 28 February 2010
- Exum looks at Af-Pak campaign of the Long War, revealing more about ourselves than the foe, 7 June 2010
About the War in Pakistan
- Is Pakistan’s Musharraf like the Shah of Iran? (if so, bad news for us), 8 November 2007
- Stratfor says that our war in Pakistan grows hotter; Palin seems OK with that, 12 September 2008
- NPR tells us more about America’s newest war, in Pakistan, 14 September 2008
- Pakistan warns America about their borders, and their sovereignty, 14 September 2008
- Weekend reading about … foreign affairs, 19 October 2008
- To good a story to die: eliminate legitimate grievances to eliminate terrorism, 9 December 2008
- About the 4GW between India and Pakistan, 6 January 2009
- The US tells Pakistan to pick a side. Or else…, 4 May 2009
- Why are we fighting in Pakistan, 14 May 2009
- The love of an ally is sweet to behold, 21 August 2009
- Juan Cole describes A Century of Frenzy over the North-West Frontier, 27 September 2009
- Are we defending the Pakistan of our dreams, or the real thing?, 7 October 2009
- Pratap Chatterjee asks “are we destabilizing Pakistan?”, 24 February 2010
Afterword and contact info
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