War, Empire, and the Military

These 127 essays, although organized under seven headings, have one underlying theme: opposition to the warfare state that robs us of our liberty, our money, and in some cases our life. Conservatives who decry the welfare state while supporting the warfare state are terribly inconsistent. The two are inseparable. Libertarians who are opposed to war on principle, but support the state's bogus "war on terrorism," even as they remain silent about the U.S. global empire, are likewise contradictory. Although many of these essays reference contemporary events, the principles discussed in all of them are timeless: war, militarism, empire, interventionism, and the warfare state. In chapter 1, "War and Peace," the evils of war and warmongers and the benefits of peace are examined. In chapter 2, "The Military," the evils of standing armies and militarism are dis-cussed, including a critical look at the U.S. military. In chapter 3, "The War in Iraq," the wickedness of the Iraq War is exposed. In chapter 4, "World War II," the "good war" is shown to be not so good after all. In chapter 5, "Other Wars," the evils of war and the warfare state are chronicled in specific wars: the Crimean War (1854 1856), the Russo-Japanese War (1904 1905), World War I (1914 1918), the Persian Gulf War (1990 1991), and the war in Afghanistan (2001 ). In chapter 6, "The U.S. Global Empire," the beginnings, growth, extent, nature, and consequences of the U.S. empire of bases and troops are revealed and cr...