Does Money Drive Our Wars?

War.  We do a lot of it.  Why, we are usually sold on the idea that we will be safer if we use our military. We buy off on war because we are afraid something bad will happen to us if we don’t.  It is usually some future bad thing as illustrated by the famous lie by Bush told us about weapons of mass destruction that IRAQ was supposed to use against us someday, somehow.  In our last blog, we talked about how fear drives our action with ISIS.  

Let's look at it from another angle.  So, who do you think profits from all these wars we fight?  We certainly have a dismal record on accomplishing anything by military action.  We have failure after failure in achieving peace anywhere with our military.  Are there any exceptions?

One might alternatively propose that our goal is not peace but to pursue a course of action that sells the most planes, bombs, drones, etc.in any situation. Let's see, Israel has gone through three cycles of bombing the shit out of Gaza, we rebuild it and then give/sell Israel more weapons to do it again.  Well, is it peace we seek or selling weapons?  Does the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) capitalize on our fears?

ISIS was masterfully created by our invasion of Iraq a decade ago followed by our masterful creation of a non-functioning democracy in the same country.  But, the result, we now spend $250 million a week bombing ISIS.  How nice for our military industrial complex (MIC).  (And yet, we commit a paltry $ billion, not weekly, the total fund, to fight Ebola which by some estimates could kill a million people if it is not stopped by January 2015.  So, why doesn’t anyone talk up the fear with Ebola.  No money in it? I digress.) What kind of vehicles is ISIS driving? They are driving U.S. vehicles left behind by Iraq soldiers ... yea, stuff American taxpayers furnished.  How nice for the MIC. Well, is it peace and world stability we seek or selling weapons?

In the Ukraine we slowly back Russia into a "NATO corner" and then wonder why Putin gets nervous. We didn't have anything to do with the new government that got put in after the democratically elected government got kicked out did we? But, somehow, I suspect we will need to sell Ukraine some more military equipment to resist Russia- a slip of the tongue there, American taxpayers will have to buy the Ukrainians some military equipment.  Are those American made tanks being loaded onto rail cars to engage Russia.  Well, is it peace we seek or selling weapons?

Well, what we are doing with fighting ISIS doesn't make sense unless you are the one making the military equipment. Let's see the new F-22, reportedly ready to fly since 2005,  at a half billion each got to debut in bombing runs .  You got to get something out of a $10 billion program.  Apparently the planes accelerate so quickly, the pilots pass out.  A small design flaw.

Have you seen a typical commercial for military equipment ...  

Series of commercials on U.S. Military Equipment. (skip the commercials on non-military stuff.)  

So, if you look at all these wars we fight ... and you wonder why, just think how many trillions our Military Industrial Complex makes every time we start a new war.  And, whenever you hear how dangerous or powerful a new enemy is .. how much a threat they WILL pose one day to our country, or you see a military plan like the one against ISIS that makes no sense ... just remembers who profits whenever you get afraid.

America is Afraid of ISIS

Ok, the plan with ISIS is to bomb the "shit" out of them, like Israel bombed Gaza.  Nope, we can't or won't do that because too many innocent Muslims (meaning Muslims that are not currently in power - is that fair in the Middle East?) will get killed. In fact, we have assembled a great coalition to help us bomb the ISIS ineffectively.  How are they going to help?  For example,  if Saudi's are helping us, then we hope the rest of the Muslim thinks we are not taking sides in the different religious factions.. In short, it is not America against the Muslims.

But everyone agrees that without boots on the ground, we can not dislodge ISIS from the territory they now control.  We are hoping the Syrian Rebels or the Kurds with guns from us and air support can do what we are unwilling to do:  put our lives behind a cause that we believe in.  But, the truth is, we don't believe in the cause, we are not willing to die to get rid of ISIS.  We are waiting for the next generation of war, a fully automated robotic fighting force.  

But the bottom line is that we have a coalition of countries carrying out a plan that no one thinks will stop ISIS.  ISIS will simply distribute themselves into the local population and wait us out.  They have plenty of territory to consolidate and some time to do that is probably in their best interests.  We have bombed some of their mobile oil refineries to reduce their income, but will that action encourage them to develop and improve their other forms of financing, such as donations and coercion of the local populations.  It will also give them more time to rape the local women, devaluing them per the local Muslim religions. So what happens to the cohesion of the neighborhoods when all the women have brought shame on themselves (not my thinking I assure you). So, all in all, we are giving them a time to consolidate their holdings and build a more solid foundation of terror to move forward in the future.  

A big question is whether or not the bombing of ISIS will enhance their recruitment.  I suspect we have improved their recruitment message.  They can now say, look at the might force and number of companies that have united because of their fear of us. Further,  they are still fighting the evil West and the Muslims that support the West.  They can point to the mighty coalition of countries that have united against them, and yet, they still control a vast swath of territory that is still expanding.  In short, we have America right where we want them.  And what is sad, I think it is true.

I was taught that any job worth doing is worth doing right.  That is clearly not what we are doing with ISIS.  We are doing the job half-ass afraid to risk any American lives, but afraid to do nothing.  WE ARE AFRAID, not committed.  

We no longer believe that the American Military can solve all our problems, but we are afraid to say it out loud.  We are just afraid of doing nothing, because we do not believe anyone else in the world is capable. We are afraid to look at the history of all our failures, especially in the Middle East, and chart a new course.  We want to control things, we want instant gratification.  We do not want to turn the spot light on ourselves and lead by example because we will find ourselves wanting.  At every turn, we doubt ourselves and are frozen into a tentative, improvised style of world leadership.  

We have not taken the moral high ground for a long time.  One has to look no further than Israel and the Palestinians to see the lack of our moral fiber to do what is right.  We buy the rhetoric of our news and politicians, that we are all powerful and righteous.  Each American needs to examine themselves and ask what we believe in, to look at our history, especially in the Middle East and ask ourselves what are motives are, what are our limitations, and what are our strengths.  Are we taking the moral high ground?

How to Fight ISIS by Robert R. Odle, Ph.D.

There are two types of war ... and we are losing both ..

Child killed by Israeli bombing	The unrelated growth of ISIS
U.S. Jets attacking ISIS.	Palestinians fleeing Israeli genocide.

ISIS fighters have grown in number from 10 to 20 K to about 40K over the last couple of months. Our response, especially after the beheading of U.S. journalists, more bombs.  The ISIS fighters promise a Caliphate for Muslims.

A caliphate (in Arabic: خلافة‎ khilāfa, meaning "succession") is an Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader known as a caliph – i.e. "successor" – to Muhammad. The succession of Muslim empires that have existed in the Muslim world are usually described as "caliphates". Conceptually, a caliphate represents a sovereign state of the entire Muslim faithful, (the Ummah), ruled by a caliph under Islamic law (sharia).

Okay, us Westerns have no idea about Caliphs.  But, it is a big deal to Muslims, especially the conservative religious fundamentalists to use our Western Terminology.  Military advisers, yea the same ones that have spent a trillion dollars in the Middle East conquering terrorists advise that we need boots on the ground to fight ISIS especially considering their growth and their followings around the world.  And their popularity is not just coming from Muslim countries but it is flourishing in places like England.

Well, who is this Caliphate going to lead the Muslims against.  Hint, it was U.S. journalists that were beheaded.  This is a continuation of the bigger plan to lure us first into conflict in Afghanistan, then Iraq and now against ISIS. Their glory comes from engaging the evil tyrant that leads the Western world that is full of sin and promiscuous behavior.   Much of our status is not deserved, we came into the Middle East innocently thanks to master plan of Bin Laden and one of the master brains behind Bin Laden, Sayyid Qutb, intellectual father of the anti-Western jihad.

What did Qutb teach.  First, he noted that the Western World had separated State from Religion. In the West he notes that religion was no longer guiding the affairs of the State.  The Western world also believes power for the state comes from the people, not god.  People have made themselves into Idols he reckons.  The Caliphate is a supreme ruler where matters of the state, the laws, the people are all subject to the religious ruler.  What did Qutb need to pull this all together. He needed a common enemy of Islam.  He was too radical for Egypt who put him in prison where he expounded on his philosophies to the Muslim Brotherhood, yep, the same one that has been banned from Egypt after being in power for a few decades.

The grand plan looks like this.  Poke the giant embodiment of evil, the U.S., hence 9/11.  Bonus time is when we went after Iraq on bogus WMD making it look like a war against Muslims.  Follow that up with backing sectarian rule of the Shiites in Baghdad that kills Sunnis. Is it surprising a radical Sunnis group arises to take revenge?

We tell them, we believe in due process of law, just not in Guantanamo Bay for Muslims. We tell them, we believe in democracy and then help Iraq oust all Sunnis from power. We tell them we should live by the law, then back Israel in building new Settlements against international law agreements. We tell them that we believe in self-determination, then help Israel deny self-determination to the Palestinians for 65 years. We tell them to follow the rules of war and then Abu Ghraib torture 

and prisoner abuse occurs.  We tell them Asad in 

Syria  bombs his own people and then give Israel one billion 

in military aid to bomb and kill 2500 people, mostly 

citizens in Gaza.

We have two paths to go down in the Middle East.  The one we have been on: military engagement with big guns, drones, superior fire power.   The result so far, trillions of dollars down the tube and our enemy now able to recruit troops not just from the Middle East but from around the world.  And money, it is pouring into ISIS from the Saudi's and Muslims around the world.  We have given them so much to work with ...  How naive can be, and how long can we stay that way?

Another approach to win the war in the Middle East might be to follow the principle we proclaim so virtuously. We might start by keeping our promises, made 65 years ago, to the Palestinians to have their own country.  Make Israel give back the land they have taken from the Palestinians, make them rebuild Gaza at their own expense, and face International courts on war crimes.  How do we make them.  We cut the billion dollars in military aid that we give them each year.  We quit supplying them missiles, usually free for their Iron Dome.  Israel simply can not stand up without it Big Brother protecting its flank.  And Israel can not continue to be unjust to the Palestinians without Big Brother's help.  And, we can not be seen as the good guys when we protect the murdering of 2500 men, women and children in indiscriminate bombing and artillery shelling of Gaza.  
How can we think it is okay to trap six million people in a 10 mile by 13 mile area then rain in artillery shells? And we think beheading two people is cruel?

When ISIS is seeking recruits do you think they hear about Guantanamo Bay? We could start by giving the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay due process of law.  Do you think they hear how we treat the children from South America when they come here to get away from the drug lords that we help create?   Do you think they hear about the ten thousand killings each year with guns much of it in the poor minority areas of America?  Do you think they hear about all the highest per capita prison population in the world, mostly dark skinned people that look like them?  Do you think they hear about police shooting unarmed people walking down the street and then not having to face due process of law?  Do you think they hear about the U.S. Military giving police departments $450 million dollars of surplus military equipment to equip police departments to fight its own citizens?  Do you think they hear about the rich getting huge tax breaks while some people on our minimum wage are homeless? Do you think you could use this material to recruit people to fight against us?

We severely underestimate our enemies.  The 9/11 terrorists were no dummies.  What they did was sophisticated and well planned, not only physically but philosophically.  We have waged a physical war as we continue doing to this day.  They are waging a sophisticated philosophical war that we have not even understood, much less have we attempted to engage in either verbally or by our actions. 

We have become self-righteous and unable to see how easily it is to portray us as being evil.  We have deserted many of the principles we have stood for in an attempt to run up the body count.  Do we think with billions of muslims on the plant, with percent 10 to 20% of them fundamentalists (yea, about the same fraction of fundamentalist christian followers) that they are going to run out of people or resources.  We learned (or not) in Vietnam that you cannot defeat an enemy that believes enough in his cause to die for it, you can only kill the first person in the infinite line that forms of believers in that cause.  

War has become an international affair of one set of beliefs against a conflicting set of beliefs.  The stages change, but each side attempts to make the other side the bad guys.  Each gathers the information that is delivered on the Internet platter, puts their spin on it, and serves it up to their followers.  In such a war, it is the one that does the most killing, that commits the most atrocious acts of war, the one that is the most unjust that ultimately loses. From our side, the beheading of two American journalists is awful, from their side the killing of 2500 Palestinians by American's hit man, Israel, is a thousand times worse. What is our defense?

To win the wars in the Middle East we are going to have to do what is right, not what is easy. We are going to have to stand up for our principles even when we are dealing with people whose values are 180 degrees opposite from ours. We may even have to do random acts of kindness. Perhaps take on the ebola war? Or help Palestinians have their own country? Or help the Syrian refugees. Or build Gaza an airport or allow them to fish to feed their people? These things will slow the flood of resources into ISIS. Another trillion in bombs and drones will give exponential rise to ISIS and their successors.

Robert R. Odle, Ph.D.

Ebola - should we be scared? By Robert R. Odle, Ph.D.

Now, I'm not a medical doctor or health expert, but a disease that kills 50 to 70% of each victims by drilling little holes in blood vessels ... well that seems scary to me.  It started 6 months ago and has now attacked 2000 people on the way to 20,000 per the World Health Organization (WHO).  I understand how you can track who has been exposed to the disease when there are 20 sick people, but 2000, or 20,000.  I don't think so.

The above is how Ebola starts, before it gets serious.

Then it starts getting serious ...

Yea, but it's way over in Africa, who cares.  Guess what.  Planes fly in and out of Africa.  But, you say plane flights are suspended flights to Monrovia, Liberia; Conakry, Guinea; and Freetown, Sierra Leone.  But, when it spreads to another Africa country will it be before or after flights to that country are cancelled?

Dr. Peter Piot, the Belgium microbiologist credited as co-discoverer of the Ebola virus in 1976, said in an interview published Tuesday he believes the efforts to contain the outbreak in West Africa are doomed to failure.  What does that mean? So, does West Africa get wiped out?  And of course, it just stops at the borders of the countries infected.

Are you kidding me?  First, even if we don't care about Africans and being our brother's keeper, can you imagine one person taking a plane into JFK or Chicago or Philly when they are contagious with Ebola.  Can you imagine tracking everyone down that would come in contact with them in the airport.  Are you kidding me?   I would say we would be up against an impossible position.  

So what are we doing.  We are going to test some possible vaccines after the FDA declares they are safe.  Are you kidding me, that is the wrong question.  The question is do they have a small chance of working against Ebola.  If they do, try them.  If they hurt instead of help, sorry about that, but something bigger than one person is at stake.  

I just heard one of the tv networks just gave the NFL $10 billion to carry the Thursday night football games.  Obama just came up with $250 million to fight Ebola.  Are you kidding me.  Our priorities? Our values?

Workers Risk Their Own Jobs and Retirement to Save Their Boss by Robert R. Odle, Ph.D.

Market Basket Fires Arthur T as CEO

Market Basket Workers Revolt

Ok, it doesn't get any better than this. ... Arthur T. treated his workers at Market Basket grocery well.  Most of his workers stayed for 20 years or more because he paid them well, gave them good benefits, and a good retirement.  Some of the rest of the family didn't think it was such a good idea to waste so much money on workers.  In their opinion, he was leaving too much money on the table that could go into their greedy pockets instead.  So they fired his ass and put in a new CEO.

The Babyboomers started a work slow down and truck drivers stopped delivering produce.  The new CEO started firing their asses.  The Babyboomers started having rallies and signing pledges to only work for Arthur T.  The story chain started losing $10 million a day.  Management doubled down with firings and workers doubled down.  Management folded, Arthur T. raised money to get majority interest in the chain.

Arthur T. is back.  The store has lost customers and has more debt, but the workers and their beloved boss is united in trying to bring it back to life.

What a god damn great story.   Its been decades since I have seen even a whiff of company or worker loyalty in America.  My dad worked in the same garage for 20 years for $100 a week until he died.  His boss paid him for his last year of work after he had a heart attack and was laid up in bed.  Of course, my dad tried to go back to work since he didn't qualify for disability, and well, his ticker wasn't up to challenge.  The boss would come every week and visit him in bed and then hand a paycheck to my mom.  Nevermind the check was too little and the boss was a womanizer that my dad's hard work and loyalty helped pay for.  But, there was a bond in the old days between a man and his company.  And, such relationships were not casually thrown away on either side.

Arthur T. my hats off to you.  Most workers these days wouldn't know the CEO of their company if he walked right up to them and kicked them in the butt.  And, that is what most workers in America would expect out of their CEO.  But, Arthur T., your workers love you and they are willing to lose their jobs to get you hired back as their CEO.  Wow, wow, wow.  Hats off to you, MR. Arthur T.  I would love to meet you and shake your hand.  Thank you for all Americans.  I wish more CEO's were like you ... I can't imagine how great this country could be with more people like you in charge.  Thank you.  (tears).