War is a racket

[t_polkow]

War is a Racket by Smedley Butler is a famous speech denouncing the military industrial complex

A speech delivered in 1933, by Major General Smedley Butler, USMC. Smedley Butler. WAR is a racket. It always has been

 

[georgephillip]

"WAR is a racket.

"It always has been.

It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

"A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small 'inside' group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many.

"Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

"In the World War a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows."

Where's the next Smedley Butler?

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Think about the fortune the communists are making off of the continent of Africa by funding and orchestrating those wars with the governments there! The oil, the minerals, the wealth being stolen from the people there is unprecedented. The most unreported story of the century no doubt.

Yes, a few people are getting very rich indeed!

 

[Katzndogz]

War could be avoided simply by deciding who is the strongest, who is the most determined and an immediate surrender of the weakest.

Would there have been a WWII if Europe had immediately surrendered to the Nazis? No. If the Christians in Africa just knelt down before Islamic swords for their beheading would a war be necessary? No.

War is avoided by immediate surrender before blood is shed. Which side should do the surrendering?

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

War could be avoided simply by deciding who is the strongest, who is the most determined and an immediate surrender of the weakest.

Would there have been a WWII if Europe had immediately surrendered to the Nazis? No. If the Christians in Africa just knelt down before Islamic swords for their beheading would a war be necessary? No.

War is avoided by immediate surrender before blood is shed. Which side should do the surrendering?

Very good point.

 

[TruthSeeker56]

Since World War 2, war has been a racket. World War 2 was not a "racket". The Germans and Japs were legitimate threats to all freedom-loving people in the world. If the United States had NOT chosen NEUTRALITY until 1941, World War 2 would have ended well before 1945.

Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq War, Afghan War..............all "invented" in the name of a "noble" cause, and all deemed "necessary" in the name of "freedom" and "security".

The "war" on terror is a legitimate war, much like World War 2, except with a deadly and cowardly enemy that cannot be defined by single nations with borders.

 

[MHunterB]

It takes two to have peace: it only takes one to make war.

 

[t_polkow]

Why is it no surprise that the fundamentalist christer goons would show up an post idiotic nonsense especially when they probably never served a day in the military much less in any war

 

[t_polkow]

Since World War 2, war has been a racket. World War 2 was not a "racket". The Germans and Japs were legitimate threats to all freedom-loving people in the world. If the United States had NOT chosen NEUTRALITY until 1941, World War 2 would have ended well before 1945.

Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq War, Afghan War..............all "invented" in the name of a "noble" cause, and all deemed "necessary" in the name of "freedom" and "security".

The "war" on terror is a legitimate war, much like World War 2, except with a deadly and cowardly enemy that cannot be defined by single nations with borders.

His speech was given in the early 30's

 

[t_polkow]

"WAR is a racket.

"It always has been.

It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

"A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small 'inside' group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many.

"Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

"In the World War a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows."

Where's the next Smedley Butler?

Prescott Bush (W's grandfather) and the Nazis
“Bush - Nazi Dealings Continued Until 1951” - Federal Documents
By John Buchanan and Stacey Michael
from The New Hampshire Gazette Vol. 248, No. 3, November 7, 2003
The New Hampshire Gazette
cgi-bin/NHGstore.cgi?user_action=detail&catalogno=NN_Bush_Nazi_2


George Bush’s grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany.

The Guardian has obtained confirmation from newly discovered files in the US National Archives that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism.

His business dealings, which continued until his company’s assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act, has led more than 60 years later to a civil action for damages being brought in Germany against the Bush family by two former slave labourers at Auschwitz and to a hum of pre-election controversy.

The evidence has also prompted one former US Nazi war crimes prosecutor to argue that the late senator’s action should have been grounds for prosecution for giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternativ...r-helped-hitlers-rise-to-power-2-2525490.html

 

[georgephillip]

Think about the fortune the communists are making off of the continent of Africa by funding and orchestrating those wars with the governments there! The oil, the minerals, the wealth being stolen from the people there is unprecedented. The most unreported story of the century no doubt.

Yes, a few people are getting very rich indeed!

Point out the communists:

"The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM or AFRICOM) is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands of the United States Armed Forces, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U.S. military operations and military relations with 53 African nations – an area of responsibility (AOR) covering all of Africa except Egypt, which is within the area of responsibility of the United States Central Command..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Africa_Command

 

[georgephillip]

Since World War 2, war has been a racket. World War 2 was not a "racket". The Germans and Japs were legitimate threats to all freedom-loving people in the world. If the United States had NOT chosen NEUTRALITY until 1941, World War 2 would have ended well before 1945.

Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq War, Afghan War..............all "invented" in the name of a "noble" cause, and all deemed "necessary" in the name of "freedom" and "security".

The "war" on terror is a legitimate war, much like World War 2, except with a deadly and cowardly enemy that cannot be defined by single nations with borders.

His speech was given in the early 30's

And there's also a very strong possibility that the US involvement in WWI created the conditions for Hitler's rise in Germany during the period between the two great conflicts. IMHO, since WWI had been underway for two years when the US jumped in, and conditions of stalemate prevailed between the European/Asian combatants, a negotiated armistice between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers in 1914 would have left investment bankers in New York and London without anyone to collect from, since they loaned freely to both sides.

When we went "over there", Germany was crushed, the bankers' got their pound of fle$h (and ocean$ of blood), and Hitler went from being a two-bit actor to becoming the anti-Christ, with some substantial help from the Bu$h family, among other patriotic American$.

 

[georgephillip]

"WAR is a racket.

"It always has been.

It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

"A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small 'inside' group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many.

"Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

"In the World War a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows."

Where's the next Smedley Butler?

Prescott Bush (W's grandfather) and the Nazis
“Bush - Nazi Dealings Continued Until 1951” - Federal Documents
By John Buchanan and Stacey Michael
from The New Hampshire Gazette Vol. 248, No. 3, November 7, 2003
The New Hampshire Gazette
cgi-bin/NHGstore.cgi?user_action=detail&catalogno=NN_Bush_Nazi_2


George Bush’s grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany.

The Guardian has obtained confirmation from newly discovered files in the US National Archives that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of Nazism.

His business dealings, which continued until his company’s assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act, has led more than 60 years later to a civil action for damages being brought in Germany against the Bush family by two former slave labourers at Auschwitz and to a hum of pre-election controversy.

The evidence has also prompted one former US Nazi war crimes prosecutor to argue that the late senator’s action should have been grounds for prosecution for giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

How Bush's Grandfather Helped Hitler's Rise to Power | Alternative

Don't forget Prescott's father, Sam Bush, who was likely one of those new millionaires created by the War To End All Wars:

"In 1901, Bush returned to Columbus to be General Manager of Buckeye Steel Castings Company, which manufactured railway parts. The company was run by Frank Rockefeller, the brother of oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, and among its clients were the railroads controlled by E. H. Harriman.

"The Bush and Harriman families would be closely associated at least until the end of World War II. In 1908, Rockefeller retired and Bush became President of Buckeye, a position he would hold until 1927, becoming one of the top industrialists of his generation."

Samuel P. Bush - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Katzndogz]

While the conditions that gave rise to Hitler's power certainly came out of WWI, it was because of the French, not the US. Germany agreed to pay reparations to France with the Treaty of Versailles. They could not pay the monumental debt. Germany tried to right itself economically by printing more money resulting in an inflation and the collapse of the German mark. Hitler righted the German economy by restructuring the system and announcing that he simply wasn't going to pay the reparations. This led to world wide confidence in Germany and a rush of bankers and investors.

The reparations were retired in 1986 still unpaid.

So you're just wrong.

 

[Toronado3800]

While the conditions that gave rise to Hitler's power certainly came out of WWI, it was because of the French, not the US. Germany agreed to pay reparations to France with the Treaty of Versailles. They could not pay the monumental debt. Germany tried to right itself economically by printing more money resulting in an inflation and the collapse of the German mark. Hitler righted the German economy by restructuring the system and announcing that he simply wasn't going to pay the reparations. This led to world wide confidence in Germany and a rush of bankers and investors.

The reparations were retired in 1986 still unpaid.

So you're just wrong.

I will split this one with him. France should have just grabbed a chunk of German territory instead of making Germany go through the repeated slaps of the payments.

Just after the war the victors felt SOME need to punish their invaders. Right or wrong? I dunno. I punish my kid when he kicks at me.

 

[georgephillip]

While the conditions that gave rise to Hitler's power certainly came out of WWI, it was because of the French, not the US. Germany agreed to pay reparations to France with the Treaty of Versailles. They could not pay the monumental debt. Germany tried to right itself economically by printing more money resulting in an inflation and the collapse of the German mark. Hitler righted the German economy by restructuring the system and announcing that he simply wasn't going to pay the reparations. This led to world wide confidence in Germany and a rush of bankers and investors.

The reparations were retired in 1986 still unpaid.

So you're just wrong.

What role did Wall Street bankers play in helping Hitler right Germany's economy?

"the wall street crash caused a world wide economic depression, germany had been relying on american loan (Dawes plan) to pay its reparations to Britain and france, with out this money germany sudenly became very hard up, when times are hard it is very common for people to seek alternatives to the current goverment. hitler was offering the best alternative, he was offering to make germany great again, by promising bread and work, and initially he succedded in this. its really no surprise he gained power."

How did the wall street crash help Adolf Hitler in his rise to power? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers

 

[Yurt]

War could be avoided simply by deciding who is the strongest, who is the most determined and an immediate surrender of the weakest.

Would there have been a WWII if Europe had immediately surrendered to the Nazis? No. If the Christians in Africa just knelt down before Islamic swords for their beheading would a war be necessary? No.

War is avoided by immediate surrender before blood is shed. Which side should do the surrendering?

the OP is a mind boggling sham of intellect. war, at times may be a racket, however, war at most times is about life, freedom and land. it also is about power and control.

to simplify war as merely a racket does an enormous injustice to what and why wars are really fought.

 

[t_polkow]

 

[Snookie]

War could be avoided simply by deciding who is the strongest, who is the most determined and an immediate surrender of the weakest.

Would there have been a WWII if Europe had immediately surrendered to the Nazis? No. If the Christians in Africa just knelt down before Islamic swords for their beheading would a war be necessary? No.

War is avoided by immediate surrender before blood is shed. Which side should do the surrendering?

the OP is a mind boggling sham of intellect. war, at times may be a racket, however, war at most times is about life, freedom and land. it also is about power and control.

to simplify war as merely a racket does an enormous injustice to what and why wars are really fought.

War is an injustice.

 

[georgephillip]

War could be avoided simply by deciding who is the strongest, who is the most determined and an immediate surrender of the weakest.

Would there have been a WWII if Europe had immediately surrendered to the Nazis? No. If the Christians in Africa just knelt down before Islamic swords for their beheading would a war be necessary? No.

War is avoided by immediate surrender before blood is shed. Which side should do the surrendering?

the OP is a mind boggling sham of intellect. war, at times may be a racket, however, war at most times is about life, freedom and land. it also is about power and control.

to simplify war as merely a racket does an enormous injustice to what and why wars are really fought.

"CHAPTER TWO

Who Makes The Profits?

"The World War, rather our brief participation in it, has cost the United States some $52,000,000,000. Figure it out. That means $400 to every American man, woman, and child. And we haven't paid the debt yet. We are paying it, our children will pay it, and our children's children probably still will be paying the cost of that war.

"The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits -- ah! that is another matter -- twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent -- the sky is the limit. All that traffic will bear. Uncle Sam has the money. Let's get it.

"Of course, it isn't put that crudely in war time. It is dressed into speeches about patriotism, love of country, and 'we must all put our shoulders to the wheel,' but the profits jump and leap and skyrocket -- and are safely pocketed. Let's just take a few examples:

"Take our friends the du Ponts, the powder people -- didn't one of them testify before a Senate committee recently that their powder won the war? Or saved the world for democracy? Or something?

"How did they do in the war? They were a patriotic corporation. Well, the average earnings of the du Ponts for the period 1910 to 1914 were $6,000,000 a year. It wasn't much, but the du Ponts managed to get along on it. Now let's look at their average yearly profit during the war years, 1914 to 1918. Fifty-eight million dollars a year profit we find!

"Nearly ten times that of normal times, and the profits of normal times were pretty good. An increase in profits of more than 950 per cent.

"Take one of our little steel companies that patriotically shunted aside the making of rails and girders and bridges to manufacture war materials. Well, their 1910-1914 yearly earnings averaged $6,000,000. Then came the war. And, like loyal citizens, Bethlehem Steel promptly turned to munitions making. Did their profits jump -- or did they let Uncle Sam in for a bargain? Well, their 1914-1918 average was $49,000,000 a year!

"Or, let's take United States Steel. The normal earnings during the five-year period prior to the war were $105,000,000 a year. Not bad. Then along came the war and up went the profits. The average yearly profit for the period 1914-1918 was $240,000,000. Not bad.

"There you have some of the steel and powder earnings. Let's look at something else. A little copper, perhaps. That always does well in war times..."

As long as a few non-combatants privatize vast fortunes by socializing the cost of mass murder, war is a racket.