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LETTERS / America Is Uncontaminated By Logic And Undermines Any Reliance On Reason

Dear Editor,
“We must make our choice, we may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of the few, but we cannot have both.”
Justice Louis Brandeis

American “exceptionalism” provides continuous war, economic imperialism and serves the interests of the oligarchy here at home. This quasi-secret group pulling the strings in Washington and much of America’s foreign policy is maintained by a corporatist dogma that thrives on deregulation, outsourcing, deindustrialization, and financialization.

When American politicians use the word “democracy,” they mean a country following American neoliberal policies no matter if it’s a military dictatorship or the government was installed by CIA coup, as in Georgia or Ukraine. “Democratic” government is re-defined: one supporting the Empire/NATO and the IMF; government that moves policy-making away from “elected representatives” to an “independent” central bank, whose policies are dictated by “our” wealthy elite.

“Our” government within a government isn’t controlled by the constitution or changed by political shifts. It doesn’t matter who is president as long as they continue the “war on terror”, which serves this interconnected web of corporate special interests so appropriations bills get passed on time, promotion lists approved, secret budgets get rubber stamped, tax subsidies for certain corporations are approved, and as long as too many awkward questions aren’t asked, the gears of “our” hybrid state work noiselessly.

In American terminology “free” means the unrestricted ability of American corporations to extract labor, and resources from any place in the world without interference by the countries governments, or their citizens. “Core interests” are whatever the Empire wants to satisfy its gluttonous ruling class, like the slave labor that made America from the start. Human rights have never been core interests of the Empire, except to the extent its courts treat corporations as if they were humans.

The Empire’s propaganda experts know that the best way to control public opinion in America is by maintaining a rigorous “fact free zone”.
The Empire runs on murder, which our candidates conveniently ignore as they mumble about national security and the need to pay down a national debt that never can be.

America’s intelligence/military/industrial complex makes incredible piles of money from their wars, creating enemies to focus public anger on, as intentional diversion away from its other crimes, distracting “consumers” with nationalism, while the “elites” harvest billions. Corporate media gives air time to known war criminals selling war crimes to “consumers”.

Western values is wonderful theory, but there aren’t any, beyond self worship, for being morally superior: their behavior shows otherwise. The problem isn’t the imaginary values but the arrogance that came with them. We’ve convinced ourselves that everyone else wants what we have and we’ll use any methods to pass them on.

The world could have taken a positive direction after the breakup of the Soviet Union. This left the Empire in an unchallenged position where wise leaders might have reduced the world’s excessive investment in military and war-like solutions, but the Empire chose “permanent” global control with American troops as the world’s policemen.

Country involves a way of life, based on language, customs, and culture. The state, by contrast, exists only to force its control in a never-ending quest for power, conducted chiefly at the country’s expense; taxing, policing, and war. Countries flourish when they permit and encourage nonconformity/inventiveness. The state demands compliance, awe, and regimentation. Worshiping the state includes the rulers, so “consumers” persuade themselves that obeying orders is a duty benefiting all of us.

Obama, who has attacked seven countries, scolded Russia and China for not following international rules: obvious American hypocrisy. Since 1945, America has launched dozens of documented invasions and overthrown sovereign governments that resisted American control: the strongest nation imposing its will on the weak. The real danger comes when you start believing your own lies as representing reality.

There’s no single truth in foreign policy: only differing perspectives. You’d expect more than one of them to be valid. Obama described “an international system that imposes a cost on those who choose conflict over cooperation”, denouncing those who maintain “that might makes right; that strong states must impose their will on weaker ones. This from a man, and country, who asserts the right of “our government” to launch “preemptive” wars against any country or group deemed hostile to America’s drive for control.

The Empire is stuck having to accept that a major international development happened in Syria against its will, that it’s incapable of stopping. America announced that Russia will be creating more terrorists as a result of airstrikes in Syria but of course it’s different when America does it. It’s impossible to exterminate cockroaches in one room while at the same time laying out bread crumbs on the other side of the wall.

Conceding defeat is something America doesn’t do driving politicians to make big gambles and dangerous maneuvers. When Russia began doing in Syria the same thing the Empire claims to be doing, Syrian deaths changed from “collateral damage” into “civilians”, and bombing, when Russia does it, “will only fuel more extremism and radicalization”.

There are two ways the Empire describes any Russian military operation: they’re presented as butchery or as primitive/ineffective. At the same time as the Empire accuses Russia of “attacks on Syrian civilians”, American supplied Saudi Arabia massacred a wedding in Yemen, executing over 130 people and America bombed a hospital in Afghanistan, well-known to all sides and for which the Empire/NATO had exact coordinates. Russia’s moves in Syria exposed American actions, and America’s reaction to them must create discomfort, for “patriots” by demonstrating contradictions.

Want to know who’s behind ISIS? Look who is reacting with the most anger to the Russian bombing campaign. As the Russian bombs fell, the Saudis were the first to cry “Stop”. Logically the Empire and Israel should be thrilled that Russia is joining them in their “fight”. Why isn’t this happening? ISIS is a creation of the Empire and its focus was all about destroying Syria, like they did with Libya and Iraq. Isis says it wants to free Palestine, but they’ve never harmed an Israeli.

The Syrian government asked Russia for help. Syria’s government didn’t invite the Empire to bomb their country. International law permits the use of force in a foreign country only if it has been authorized by the UN, as an act of self-defense, or at the request of the country’s authorities. If Russians are successful, you’re likely to see an arranged atrocity: the downing of a civilian airliner, the bombing of a school, and such.

America accuses opposing governments of being dictatorships, giving America the right to remove them. Obama’s aim in Syria is to remove Assad. Obama ‘introduced democracy’ into Libya overthrowing Gaddafi and sparking civil war there; and he ‘introduced democracy’ into Ukraine by a violent American planned coup and sparking civil war there. Bush brought ‘democracy’ to Iraq and sparking civil war there. President Carter said: “America is no longer a democracy”.

America says it has a “right” to intervene in Syria because Assad allegedly used poison gas on Syrians. “Our government” used poison gas on women and children in Waco Texas in April of 1993, so who has the right to intervene?

America is uncontaminated by logic and undermines any reliance on reason. It’s a land of make believe. The Nobel Peace Prize winner lectures Russia about civilian casualties, then bombs a hospital in Afghanistan, and all they can think of doing is demonizing the victims. Americans can’t imagine being wrong and get angry when you challenge their approval of popular opinion. They must see it all subconsciously. He who won’t listen will have to feel. The only endgame is ww3 because the Empire won’t stop.

Craig Dudley