Now, they did not have the concept of “nation building” back then. You conquered your enemies, enslaved, slaughtered, beat them down or simply took their stuff and left, as you saw fit, then you were done. You might install your puppets as their rulers, but nobody on any side was confused enough to think that the conquest was a liberation, or that subjugation was for the conquereds own good.
Come to think of it, the “revolutionary” (most revolutions, so called, being planned events fomented by and used by autocratic agents of autocratic regimes) aims of most Communist regimes might be seen as a logical extension of the “White Man’s Burden”.
Be all that as it may, what would Sun Tzu make of a war being fought half a world away, where we oppose both sides in a civil war which doesn’t involve us in any way? Stupid? Yes, I think stupid is the word he would use.
Corrupt is another word he might use. Ponder the NEW “Economic Consequences of the Peace”. Ponder what would happen to, what could be done with, the many hundreds of billions of dollars we spend a year on “defense”, most of which happens in nations many thousands of miles from our shores. What if North Korea makes its peace with South Korea, and we can permanently draw down our troops? What is the Iranians then also see the light of day, and begin a slow march in the direction of lightening the load their tyranny places on ordinary Iranians?
What if all our great wars suddenly either end, or need a radically different sort of war, which does not involve large numbers of troops, deployed seemingly indefinitely everywhere but America?
I don’t read many bestsellers, but I did read one Jack Reacher, “The Enemy”. The gist of it was that senior Army Generals were conspiring to keep the war business alive. It as a fictional novel, but is that really such an unreasonable plot line? Eisenhower, a Republican, and former career General–one of the few 5 Stars we have had–was the one who warned of the “military-industrial complex”.
Alex Jones has managed to make “Deep State” a phrase used by “ordinary” people. For my own purposes, I would just like to call it “The System”. The system has many beneficiaries, many two way relationships, many angles. As with any complex arrangement, you have many competing demands, many agendas, many egos, many views.
However, I think one of the CORE needs of the System is that everyone keep their words between certain lines. There are certain places you aren’t supposed to go. Calling the FBI corrupt for example, is not allowed, for the simple reason that it is TRUE, and that the FBI can both make and break people. If you are their friend, they can do for you what they did for Hillary and others. If you are their enemy, well, they can pretend that the law doesn’t apply to them, find sympathetic judges, and pretty much get away with anything, all while being supported strongly by the media components of the System.
Trump can pardon Cohen, and he might not even need to, if they can find judges who still find value in the ideals underlying the Constitution. And Trump can counterattack. I think he has been a bit off balance since he took office, since he is being attacked by all sides continually, and you can’t fire everyone at the same time. This, of course, was the intent.
And we need to be clear that the System has scored some recent points. The vitiation of lawyer-client privilege, as well as Executive Privilege, is a significant victory for the opponents of reason and democracy.
But I can’t help but FEEL, and this is only a feeling, that people are starting to see the outlines of this ugly monster as it steps further and further out of the shadows. It was possible to believe the FBI was a stand-up organization a year ago. That is no longer possible, particularly after the Cohen raid. These are slimy people, capable of anything. Not all of them obviously. No organization is COMPLETELY corrupt. There were good Nazis, presumably. But the people running it, the people making decisions for it, ARE corrupt, and that is the only good way to see it, in my view. Same with the CIA, as far as I can tell. The IRS probably depends on the bureau, but the parts which are most relevant to political persecution I think we can assume are filled with Obama partisans who think the law is merely a temporary delaying device, and unwanted annoyance.
We can hope people start to wake up. It is far past the time, if it ever existed, when it was useful to yell at Leftists. You can’t reason with dogs by barking back at them. And you are stupid if you take it personally. They yell and bark at everyone.
But the cards are on the table. I can’t help but believe there remain people like Alan Dershowitz willing to say “You know what, I hate Trump and hate his policies, but this is bullshit.”. There is no reason not to try to educate such people gently, and as persuasively as possible.