The Therese Defarge school of Social evo

History for those engaged in creating it. Comprehensive activism and applied memetics.

Staying the course?
         I've been reading Joseph E. Persico work on world war one, 11th month,11h day, 11th hour which begins with the great madness of last hour of that horrible war. With the officers and men all aware that an armistice had been signed and all fighting was soon to end, the french, english and american high commands ordered thier troops to attack in useless and vain assualts on positions the germans had already begun to withdrawl from. Still in positions to cover the withdrawl where the 120 pound maxim machine guns. Over 6000 men would die in battles begun as little as a half hour before the fighting was schedualed to end, staying the course far beyond all sense or reason.
       While the technology of the war demanded military doctrine based on 3rd generation warfare focus on mobility. The generals of the 1st world war were still embedded in 2nd generation warfare's focus on massing of troops more suitable to the century before. This converted into a brutal reality of the war of attrition. The success of attacks in world war one resulted from sending in so many men that at last the water cool machine guns began to over heat and fail. The strategy of the war was to deplete the war age male population of the other nation forcing the defeat of a nation by destroying an entire generation.
      Part of the war was generated by the massive war industry that still plays a signifcant role in driving wars today. Few americans are aware that the US is the worlds largest producer of weapons of war, selling excess weapons to nations around the world. As france and england abandon it's young men to endless and bloody struggles over only a few miles of earth, women began to replace men as industrial workers. Newly independent woman became both workers and consumers, maintianing the national economies while further profits were expanded suppling the war that was devastating both nations male youth. This meant thier was no pressing economic need that would have demanded the military hierarchy be reorganized, the old generals with thier failed anachronistic perceptions of war remained in command. While business went on near enough to as ussual at home, politicians and generals waited for a brake through that all those at the line knew would could then never come.
       It is different today and yet not so different. Buffered by a "volunteer" army, most americans remain only vaguely aware of the two wars being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan as they go about buisness as ussual. George Bush, who lied to american people and american allies to initiate the war in Iraq, calls for americans to stay the course in Iraq where companies to which he has ties are given contracts to profit from the war. Meanwhile the Democratic Leadership council, while calling for a new and smarter war refuses to question the idiocy and insanity of the war itself. As americans we need to face some thruths about the war in Iraq, a war where we are the aggressor, a war where we are not a neutral party while we pretend to be an honest broker between a population in civil termoil that we are largely responcible for initiating.

Elizabeth Parenti Soba

posted by: EzizabethParentiSoba at 15:26 | link | comments |
iraq war, staying the course, cut and run, ww1

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