tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post4074550273711955359..comments2024-03-23T13:16:37.006-07:00Comments on Hawaiian libertarian: Undeclared & Unconstitutional WarsKeoni Galthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00842553742723239151noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-35357312420230895522010-03-28T10:52:16.482-07:002010-03-28T10:52:16.482-07:001. I typically find that most critics of ideas lik...1. I typically find that most critics of ideas like these, have never even taken the time to think about the issues in any depth, and certainly expend no real effort researching them apart from a casual search for materials "debunking conspiracy theories"<br /><br />2. Most proponents of such theories also are pretty shallow, very few on either side really dig deeply.<br /><br />3. There is something to all of this, I keep coming across, in used bookstores, books like "War is a Racket" and other similar ones, some going back to the early 1900s on the topic of elites profiting from war and deliberately instigating conflicts. There's actually a large body of literature out there, it seems each generation produces this stuff and it gets forgotten real quick.<br /><br />4. Dave, you mentioned "None Dare Call it Conspiracy".<br /><br />Well, I have some problems with the book. I first read the book years ago, but wasn't aware that it had some serious issues with a lot of the sources cited. I'm discovering the same with Burnham's "The Web of Subversion" - these guys would cite things like editorials and conflate unsubstantiated rumors with more serious matters.<br /><br />This doesn't mean that they weren't onto something, somewhere.<br /><br />I still think they are getting to the mark on some things. The problem with the sort of old John Birch circles was that they lacked any rigor in their research, and tended to read everything in light of what they wanted to see. The "Right Wing Conspiracy" milieu had some real serious source problems.<br /><br />Which is a shame because they really were on to something in a way. <br /><br />Anthony Sutton's works are much more rigorous. His "Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler" and the follow-ups really can't be argued against much. Which is why most people just ignore them.<br /><br />Both of Carol Quigley's books, in spite of lacking proper sources, are less problematic.<br /><br />The Reese Commission materials were interesting.<br /><br />etc.Kamal S.http://kali-yuga.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-17112854895768111252010-03-17T19:15:31.705-07:002010-03-17T19:15:31.705-07:00HL,
Funding both sides predates the Vietnam war. ...HL,<br /><br />Funding both sides predates the Vietnam war. <br /><br />Major Jordan documents the fraud of the lend lease act with the soviets during WWII.<br /><br />http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/wars/jordan/01.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-43010994177255601592010-03-17T00:08:58.795-07:002010-03-17T00:08:58.795-07:00Follow the money. Maybe no American company was do...<i>Follow the money. Maybe no American company was doing business with the Taliban or Iraq in 2001, but you can bet a whole lot of them were planning to move in once the military did the dirty work and cleared the way.</i><br /><br />All I can say is, if you think these guys have enough clout to <b>cause</b> the war - as opposed to take advantage of it once it happens - you are seriously deluded.<br /><br /><i>An official "declaration of war" would perhaps make it Constitutionally more difficult to deploy Blackhawk/KBR private contractors in combat operations like what's been going on for the past 4 years in Iraq.</i><br /><br />I don't see how it would make it more difficult. And again, these companies are <b>small potatoes</b> in the grand scheme of the American economy and even in terms of the military-industrial complex. They cannot and do not call the shots.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-84779385882399857832010-03-16T15:19:17.624-07:002010-03-16T15:19:17.624-07:00Precisely correct Anonymous. An official "dec...Precisely correct Anonymous. An official "declaration of war" would perhaps make it Constitutionally more difficult to deploy Blackhawk/KBR private contractors in combat operations like what's been going on for the past 4 years in Iraq.Keoni Galthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00842553742723239151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-26446072252224802742010-03-16T06:08:13.775-07:002010-03-16T06:08:13.775-07:00Leave "right" and "left" out o...Leave "right" and "left" out of it. The Democrat-Republican, conservative-liberal, left-right divide is an intermural scrimmage designed to distract the public.<br /><br />Follow the money. Maybe no American company was doing business with the Taliban or Iraq in 2001, but you can bet a whole lot of them were planning to move in once the military did the dirty work and cleared the way.<br /><br />When the big money wants something badly enough, the politicians and media will make it happen. Just spew a lot of emotionally-charged rhetoric, tie some yellow ribbons on SUVs, and the public will eat it up with a spoon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-54409359991764705252010-03-15T07:57:14.279-07:002010-03-15T07:57:14.279-07:00IIRC the Congress passed an Authorization of the U...IIRC the Congress passed an Authorization of the Use of Force against Iraq and other terrorist states. The Constitution does not say that a declaration of war be worded in a standardized format.<br /><br />Also, the democrats went out of their wsy to make sure their votes were known to be supporting the authorization. The left and then the Demoncrats began to oppose th3e war two weeks later; no, I take it back, the Left was against the U.S defending itself after the attack. You should also remember that the Twin Tower scenes were not replayed after the first week "lest'" the liberals believed, " the American people become bellicose."dienwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16878081733638742366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-37180573409154223642010-03-15T02:24:12.498-07:002010-03-15T02:24:12.498-07:00If you like this stuff you should join the John Bi...If you like this stuff you should join the John Birch society. Most of what you quote is either irrelevant or the product of kooks e.g. Gen Butler.<br /><br />The "arms dealers and bankers start wars so they can make a profit even if it kills millions" theory has an interesting history and was quite common in Germany after WW1. Since most of the bankers and arms merchants were jewish, you can make the next step for yourself.Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16289856510554336990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-33138231515209411382010-03-11T18:37:25.588-08:002010-03-11T18:37:25.588-08:00jfr, that may be so, but it is not relevant to the...jfr, that may be so, but it is not relevant to the original argument, which is that we didn't declare war in Vietnam because certain companies were "trading with the enemy". No such companies were doing business with Saddam (2003) or the Taliban (2001) - certainly not on a scale to influence US government policy - so this does not explain why the US did not declare war on Afghanistan or Iraq.<br /><br />A better explanation for not declaring war is the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928, to which the US is a signatory, and which proclaims that "the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy".<br /><br />http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/kbpact.asp<br /><br />What about WW2? The Pact did not apply then, because Germany, Italy, and Japan declared war on us. Our declarations of war against them simply ratified what already existed as a matter of law and reality, i.e. we were at war with Germany, Italy, and Japan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-23506679069917048072010-03-11T14:02:16.038-08:002010-03-11T14:02:16.038-08:00Anon,
Take a look at Bremer's 100 Orders: The...Anon,<br /> Take a look at Bremer's 100 Orders: The True scale of Iraq's Rape & Distruction. <br /><br />http://www.uruknet.info/?p=42948<br /><br />Iraq has been a corporate bonanza.jfrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-34570186387331528272010-03-11T05:28:19.401-08:002010-03-11T05:28:19.401-08:00Probably Blackwater/Xe and a bunch of CIA front co...<i>Probably Blackwater/Xe and a bunch of CIA front companies were passing money and arms and drugs around.</i><br /><br />Uh huh. Evidence?<br /><br />Hate to break it to you, but Blackwater is a small, small company. It is not even in the Fortune 1000, let alone the Fortune 500. The idea that they drive US policy towards Iraq and Afghanistan is stupid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-87835131315915826362010-03-10T22:13:48.730-08:002010-03-10T22:13:48.730-08:00'Was any US company doing significant business...'Was any US company doing significant business with the Taliban in 2001?'<br /><br />Probably Blackwater/Xe and a bunch of CIA front companies were passing money and arms and drugs around.<br /><br />The Bush family has a lot of "interesting" business connections.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4256367009985298221.post-45917205001710815772010-03-10T20:52:44.766-08:002010-03-10T20:52:44.766-08:00Was any US company doing significant business with...Was any US company doing significant business with the Taliban in 2001? With Saddam in 2003? I can't think of any US companies that were selling anything to those losers, let alone "arms and goods that can be used for military purposes". The fact is that the US was never a major arms supplier to either country. We never wound up fighting "our own weapons" in either war. So whatever the reason not to declare war, that wasn't it.<br /><br />In Afghanistan in 2001, the problem was additionally muddled by the fact that our beef was with al Qaeda, not Afghanistan. Declaring war on Afghanistan made no sense... and I'm not sure how much sense it would make to declare war on a terrorist group, either. What does that do for you that you can't do without such a declaration?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com