Martyn Bradbury writes,
Here:
“The new Horsemen of the Apocalypse – US Military Industrial Complex vs Covid vs Catastrophic Climate Change vs Late Stage Capitalism”
Solely mentioning the US as having a Military Industrial Complex, leaves a narrative gap for the pro-war conspiracy theorists to argue the invasion of Ukraine is justified.
Solely mentioning the US as having a Military Industrial Complex, somewhat obscures the fact that England has a Military Industrial Complex, France has a Military Industrial complex, so does Germany, so does Russia. Every capitalist country has a Military Industrial Complex. Even little New Zealand, has a Military Industrial Complex, (a carbon copy of, and closely linked to other Western Military Industrial Complexes.)
The old US of A is not the Only Evil in The World
In 1873 a fake Russian Scare created the necessary war hysteria for a massive build up of New Zealand’s Military Industrial Military Complex.
The New Zealand Military Industrial Complex were given government funding to build massive concrete gun emplacements and cannons around the country. The permanent concrete ruins of this 19th Century Military Industrial Complex folly, still remain visibly, scarring the landscape in our biggest city at North Head and Bastion Point.
More solidly in place than even the obsolete concrete military installations of their own construction, the New Zealand Military Industrial Complex has cemented itself permanently in to place in the country’s fabric.
New Zealand’s history as a junior imperial partner.
From the Boer war in 1899 to New Zealand’s military conquest and brutal colonial occupation of Samoa, to the war in Afghanistan, there has not been a military imperialist war, or intervention that the New Zealand Military Industrial Complex has not supported and taken us into, no matter how unjust, no matter how cruel.
How do we defeat the Global Military Industrial Complex?
Growing up in the Vietnam war era, I witnessed how the mighty world spanning US empire was humbled by the Vietnamese resistance and victory, and weakened by the mass popular protest movement against the war at home.
It took almost 30 years before the mighty US empire was able to fully overcome what had became known as the Vietnam Syndrome, or Vietnam paralysis.
From Wikipedia:
Vietnam Syndrome is a term in
U.S. politics that refers to public aversion to
American overseas
military involvements after the domestic controversy over the
Vietnam War. In 1973, the U.S. ended combat operations in Vietnam.
[1] Since the early
1980s, the combination of
public opinion that is biased
against war,
[2] ending the active use of
military conscription, a relative reluctance to deploy ground troops, and “Vietnam paralysis”, are all the perceived results of Vietnam Syndrome…..
The Lesson Of Vietnam
Let’s get this straight, the anti-Vietnam War movement was not a peace movement.
The anti Vietnam war movement demanded America’s unconditional withdrawal from Vietnam, and Victory for Vietnamese NLF against the invader, in popular recognition of the fact, that the armed resistance of the Vietnamese people to US imperialism, was just.
Millions of anti Vietnam war protesters around the world chanted;
“Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam will win”.
The anti-Vietnam war movement was not a peace movement because there was a popular understanding that the military defeat of the US Military Industrial Complex at the hands of the Vietnamese people, would be a set back for the Industrial and Military Complex, around the world. (Not least here in NZ where the anti-war movement was particularly strong).
The anti Vietnam war movement was a global movement for victory against global imperialism, and for the defeat of the Military Industrial Complex.
The strength and power of the anti Vietnam war movement was because it was not a peace movement.
Who were the ones calling for peace in Vietnam?
Richard Nixon was one.
Richard Nixon campaigned for the presidency of the US on a promise to end the war in Vietnam.
During his successful campaign for the Presidency in 1968, Richard Nixon promised he had a “secret plan” to end the war in Vietnam. Yet the President decided early in his administration that a quick withdrawal “would result in a collapse of confidence in American leadership…A nation cannot remain great if it betrays its allies and lets down its friends.”
Many Americans were unhappy when an end to the war did not materialize. In October 1969, protesters staged a huge rally in Washington, D.C. On November 3, the nation eagerly tuned in to a major Nixon television address on Vietnam policy.
Nov. 3, 1969: The Speech
Instead of announcing the end to the war that he had promised in the campaign, Nixon outlined his policy of “Vietnamization,” which provided for American troop reductions but a continuation of fighting. He repeated what he had argued before: the United States had to achieve “peace with honor” and to avoid an overly sudden withdrawal….
To bring the Vietnamese to the negotiating table on America’s terms, President Nixon launched one of the biggest aerial bombing campaigns in world history. Many historians consider Nixon’s aerial bombardment of Vietnam and Cambodia a war crime. To bring the Vietnamese to the negotiating table, Nixon even threatened to use nuclear weapons against Vietnam. Something President Putin has threatened to do in Ukraine.
Just as in Vietnam, there can be no ‘Peace with honour’ for the imperial invader in Ukraine.
Whatever Putin’s excusers’ and liars claim. Whatever posturing and maneuvering of Russia’s imperial rivals is used as an excuse. The Russian Federation is the aggressor in the war in Ukraine.
As long as the Ukrainian people resist their imperial invader, it is our duty as progressive Leftists and socialists to do what ever we can to support their resistance struggle.
Slava Ukraine
Pat O’Dea is a trade unionist and human rights activist.
Bravo Pat! And don’t forget about Iran which in addition to oppressing its citizens is providing Russia with killer drones.
Using a drone to kill off one of their generals must have given those Iranians naughty ideas.
It’s way beyond this. We not only have a Military Industrial Complex (led by the US govt), we also have a Financial Industrial Complex (led by Goldman Sachs), a Medical Industrial Complex (lead by big-Pharma), and now even a Climate Change Industrial Complex (led by a 20 year old). All of these only existed in the first place, and will continue to exist, because of social media propaganda and government subsidy. All are already “too big to fail”. None are sustainable. Buckle up.
Pat must be preventing unfavourable comments from appearing
I would have thought he was better than that
Relax Pat, the imperial Mic managed amazingly this year. From another blog and blogger, beautifully said. Losing the wars we fought against tiny, pointless goat herders like F-Stan. How’s it feel Mattis, to lose to Akmed the goat boy?
“Our duty” as human beings is to strive vigorously to prevent a nuclear confrontation. That would be the end of humanity worldwide. As the Russians are well aware, the US has adopted a first strike policy and has brought nuclear weapons right up to Russia’s borders.
The people Pat disparages include: Stephen Cohen, Noam Chomsky, Code Pink activists, etc..many writers on consortiumnews…Scott Ritter, Diana Johnston, Bruce Gagnon…There is a history behind today’s situation which needs to be analyzed and debated..going back at least to the US-instigated 2014 coup..
No, even further..going back to the assurances made to Gorbachev for his agreeing to the reunification of Germany , assurances, that NATO would not expand “one inch further to the East”
The vast majority of the world’s population, the ‘unimportant’ people, are calling for diplomacy..negotiation not escalation.
Gorbachev wanted to reform the Soviet system. It was a pity he was not given the chance. The biggest disaster for Soviet Russia was Boris Yeltsin.
We must confront Russian propaganda – even when it comes from those we respect
George Monbiot
….real people have a right to express their opinions, however mistaken. But, given their utility to the Russian disinformation machine, I believe we have a duty to debunk and contest misleading justifications. In doing so we could, in our very small way, help the resistance in Ukraine.
…..Among the worst disseminators of Kremlin propaganda in the UK are people with whom I have, in the past, shared platforms and made alliances.
…This segment is by no means representative: many other leftists have staunchly and consistently denounced Russian imperialism, just as they rightly denounce the imperialism of the US and UK.
….As Russian tanks rolled across the border, [john] Pilger asked us to “imagine a strategic enclave of Britons, or French, or Germans, or Americans under violent siege – shelled and terrorised – for eight years”. This seemed to echo Putin’s speech the previous night: “The purpose of this operation is to protect people who, for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kyiv regime”.
….the Stop the War coalition’s letter of 18 February, signed by many fine and eminent people, as strangely unbalanced. It stated that it “opposes any war over Ukraine”, but said nothing about Russian aggression.and urged “the entire anti-war movement to unite on the basis of challenging the British government’s aggressive posturing and direct its campaigning to that end above all”.
…The former Labour MP Chris Williamson goes even further. As Putin’s tanks rolled across the border last Thursday, he characterised the government of Ukraine as a “post-coup, neo-Nazi backed, corrupt regime”, a classic Kremlin smear. The Morning Star, to give one of many similar examples, falsely describes Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s administration as a “fascist government”.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/02/russian-propaganda-anti-imperialist-left-vladimir-putin
In this war it is not the USA killing civilians so where is the condemnation of Russia as well as USA
“Who were the ones calling for peace in Vietnam?
Richard Nixon was one.”
Sigh, calling for peace is not the same as working for a peace.
Nixon sabotaged LBJ’s workable peace initiative, solely for his personal political ambition.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/06/nixon-vietnam-candidate-conspired-with-foreign-power-win-election-215461/
Somehow, in Pat’s mind, working toward dismantling the Military Industrial Complex isn’t also working toward peace and so can’t be considered part of the peace movement.
But, you know, Putin still is the devil and Russia is demonland.
If the Russians are considered the “aggressors” then the Ukranians, along with their US, Br4itish and NATO backers would have to be considered the “provokers”.
The aggressors are not always the “bad guys”. Sometimes the “provokers” fill that role.
Provoked?
Did Russia and China and the Warsaw Pact countries provoke the US to attack Vietnam?
According to the Americans Domino theory, they did.
The end result of giving in to this supposed provocation?
Over a million Vietnamese and 61 thousand US troops killed for no discernable gain.
What’s the lesson here?
That the Americans and their domino theory was full of shit
Partly right.
All pretexts for colonial expansion and war are full of shit.
I’m with you Pat. The bottom line is the invasion of a sovereign country no matter who the perpetrator is.
What would the US do. I wonder, if Russian. or Chinese, or Iranian nuclear missiles were lined up along its Canadian and Mexican borders?
Does anyone remember the Cuban missile crisis? If anyone other than Kennedy had been president, there would have been a nuclear confrontation.
The ‘bottom line’ is that nuclear war and climate chaos are twin existential threats.
What would the US do. I wonder, if Russian. or Chinese, or Iranian nuclear missiles were lined up along its Canadian and Mexican borders?
Does anyone remember the Cuban missile crisis? If anyone other than Kennedy had been president, there would have been a nuclear confrontation.
The ‘bottom line’ is that nuclear war and climate chaos are twin existential threats.
Where are the nuclear missiles lined up against Russian borders Lois? Ukraine gave up its arsenal in the Budapest memorandum. One could argue that the nuclear missiles based in Kaliningrad are a provocation to Poland and the Baltic nations.
“What would the US do. I wonder, if Russian. or Chinese, or Iranian nuclear missiles were lined up along its Canadian and Mexican borders?…” Lois Griffiths
No need to wonder Lois. The US did not invade Cuba and fire missiles into apartment buildings in Havana killing hundreds of men, women and children in the process. Unlike Russia in Ukraine who did exactly despite the fact that there were no US missiles placed on the Russian in Ukraine.
I will give you the same response, that I gave Malcolm Evans about US missiles allegedly being placed on the Russian border in Ukraine.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2022/12/31/new-study-exposes-the-medias-role-in-the-war-on-truth-in-ukraine/#comment-703211
That was resolved to each country’s satisfaction .The US quietly removed missiles from Turkey, Krushchev obliged by removing missiles from Cuba.Who knows what would have happened if neither had budged
In this instance, the US and EU have resolutely refused to address the broken promises to Gorbachev and the security guarantees to Russia.We need a Kennedy and a Krushchev
Unfortunately we only have the likes of You
warmongers incorp.
The US quietly removed missiles from Turkey, Krushchev obliged by removing missiles from Cuba.
As usual you ignored the point.
There were no US missiles in Ukraine.
And there still aren’t.
Tell us what you want the Ukrainians to do Francesca.
I asked. Tell us what you want the Ukrainians to do Francesca.
You can’t answer the question, can you, Francesca. Because you haven’t got a clue, have you.
A bit late asking that question
Pat
Implementing the Minsk agreements rather than cynically ignoring them to buy time,as Poroshenko admitted ,would have gone a long way to keep the rebellious eastern provinces within Ukrainian borders and pacified,saving thousands of lives.
Recognizing the rights of the Russian minority within Ukraine as a whole would have helped,but Romas can certainly testify to how minorities are treated in nationalistic Ukraine today
Keep on defending the govt who has banned leftist parties,and media who are not considered sufficiently pro Zelensky Pat.
Not only have leftist parties been banned, draconian anti labor laws have been passed
https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/ukraine-under-cover-war-zelensky-tears-workers-rights
call yourself a trade unionist ?
You should be ashamed of yourself
So what do you want the Ukrainians to do Pat, come on , hurry up , cat got your tongue?
The only thing they can do.
Defend themselves.
Bourgeois crap from the Gaurdian Pat.
Weird that your attack is on the Guardian. The Guardian is the platform, the author is George Monbiot.
Can’t challenge the content so attack the platform, Eh Nick?
Both you and I know Nick, that George Monbiot is on very firm ground in harshly criticising those Leftists that see US imperialism as the only evil in the world.
Some like John Pilger in particular who has spent his lifetime and career on exposing the crimes of US imperialism around the globe, have become so disgusted and appalled at this one aspect of global capitalism that they think this justifies the crimes of any other murderous and imperialist capitalist regime that dares to challenge the US for world hegemony.
The answer to US imperialism is not another imperialism.
The enemy of your enemy is not your friend.
Pat, you are so naive, unwordly.
Pat, look up the Wolfowitz doctrine, maybe start here
https://www.eurasiareview.com/03112022-washingtons-plan-to-break-up-russia-oped/
I tapped on the link and read the article.
I especially liked the sentence that Russia is not imperialist, that Russia is the victim of ‘imperialist aggression’.
“….the claim that Russia is “imperialist” serves a vital political function: It provides a political cover for the imperialist aggression against Russia”
Reading this sentence you could be forgiven for thinking that the US had invaded Russia. not that Russia had invaded Ukraine.
Despite screeds of text in this article, the disgusting war in Ukraine gets just one sentence, that claims the US plan was to goad Russia into attacking Ukraine to weaken Russia.
” ….to goad Russia into a bloody ground-war in Ukraine to “weaken” Russia”
More fool them then, because it seems to be working.
Personally I thought the best part of this article was the sole comment left in the comments section.
Unless you are trying to claim that the Russian Federation is socialist. What is the most amazing thing about the claim that the Russian Federation is not an imperialist nation – is that Russia would be the only capitalist country in world history to not be an imperialist or junior imperialist country. Every other single country with a capitalist economy has to expand or collapse. Even little ol’ New Zealand, which enjoys some of the benefits of imperialism, tied as we are as a junior imperialist partner tied to the US and Western imperialism, is that once even this country acted as a predatory imperialist colonialist in its own right. This is well documented.
New Zealand ‘Prussia of the South Seas’
Hansard Parliamentary Debates. House of Representatives
New Zealand. Parliament · 1927
John A. Lee:
” We must realise the fact that — probably to a greater extent than any other country in the world since the end of the war — we have increased our military bill as if we meant to do our best to fit New Zealand to be considered in our time and day to be the Prussia of the South Seas.”
Why was New Zealand spending so much on militarism during peace time, according to John A. Lee, probably more than any other country in the world?
It had a lot to do with New Zealand’s subjugation and military occupation of our Pacific colonies, especially Samoa, for the massive profits of the copra trade, which was in big demand at that time as a suntan lotion before petro chemicals replaced it.
it has been estimated that the territory taken by Russia in the Donbass has assets worth over $12 triilion.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russia-now-controls-least-12-164741759.html
And you want us to believe that the Russian Federation is not an imperialist country? This would make the Russian Federation the most exceptional capitalist country in history.
Well done Pat, you read it. I read Monbiot grudgingly too. The reality I see is that there is a proxy war going on here and you have sided with an aggressive empire that is attempting to break up another state. How very unMarxist. The Neocons will probably send you a medal in the mail for being a useful fool.
I have sided with an aggressive empire that is attempting to break up another state?
That’s truly bizarre
It’s you who has sided with an aggressive empire that is attempting to break up another state.
Here are some facts;
Russia has invaded Ukraine.
The US and/or Ukraine have not invaded Russia.
The US has refused to supply Ukraine with long range weapons that could reach Russia.
I ask you Nick – If the US was trying to break up Russia why won’t they supply Ukraine with the long range weapons the Ukrainians have asked for?
Why the US declined to send Ukraine long-range missiles, tanks
Issued on: 22/12/2022 – 21:25
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20221222-why-the-us-declined-to-send-ukraine-long-range-missiles-tanks
Responding to Ukrainian demands during Zelensky’s visit, Joe Biden was more explicit than ever in refusing to send Kyiv ATACMs, which would be able to strike targets within Russia…..
Fa’a Samoa
Slava Ukraine