Americans, since the end of the Cold War, have been reassured by their politicians that they continue to live in grave danger when, in fact, they do not (and probably never did in the first place?).
As John Glasser and Christopner A. Preble conclude in a piece for the (often described as ‘libertarian’) Cato Institute “The result is an overly aggressive, militarized foreign policy that wastes taxpayer money, provokes international hostility, instigates unnecessary wars, and erodes constitutional checks on the exercise of arbitrary power here at home.”
This piece is especially relevant in light of the present negotiations the U.S. is having with the Taliban. Having progressed a war for nearly 18-years at a cost of (who knows?) U$3trn even the narrowest minded flag-waver must wonder why an accommodation is now being sought with the group that was supposed to be eliminated by this intervention?
It seems now, almost, to be universally acknowledged the Iraq War was ‘wrong’ (on so, so many levels!) so what’s driving this serial foolishness by America? A muscle-bound military/industrial complex that’s been reluctant to pull in horns overgrown in the Cold War has a lot to do with it. So too does a de-facto-complicit cheer-leading always-on media.
Lacking enemies of real stature China has recently materialized as the most plausible candidate for politicians and the established administration to bring to the public’s attention as requiring containment. If historical precedent is anything to go by, the article suggests, this process will grow and mature, despite any and all evidence that anxiety is misplaced.
I was reminded while reading this of a quote attributed to Einstein on the human condition; “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity.” He might, he later allowed, have been wrong about the universe.
You can access the full read via the following link High Anxiety.
Happy Sunday.