America has a deadly addiction to war. Since 1950, presidents of both political parties have sent American troops into conflicts across the globe, killed countless people, sacrificed the lives and limbs of American servicemen and women, and wasted trillions of dollars. Yet these wars have consistently failed to achieve the objectives proclaimed when the killing began.
Enemies are replaced by new enemies, dictators give way to new dictators, and supposedly decisive victories become endless occupations. The beneficiaries are the military-industrial complex, the intelligence agencies and the politicians who confuse the exercise of power with the achievement of peace.
The American people deserve an answer to a simple question: What have we gained from this perpetual warfare? The answer is NOTHING in national security, and a great deal in lost lives, national debt, diminished liberty and shattered constitutional government.
The pattern is familiar. The government tells the public that a foreign adversary threatens our existence, that diplomacy has failed and that military action will be limited, necessary and successful. Then the bombs fall, the casualties mount and the mission changes. What began as a narrowly defined operation becomes a wider war, regime change, counterinsurgency or an open-ended commitment to demonstrate American domination. Then spying …read more
Source:: Ron Paul Institute