A Somewhat Rambling Rant

I have been watching the 4 year freak show, otherwise known as the presidential election, with a somewhat distant amusement. Although I refuse to participate in it; I can still find humor in it; especially this year with the antics of one Donald Trump.

Trump is a businessman, billionaire, real estate tycoon, and TV celebrity. That last item should ring some alarm bells for people; but unfortunately too many people are caught up in what Trump is saying and not who is saying it. In that manner Trump is just like Reagan was, a good actor playing a conservative. Reagan knew how to work a crowd, make people feel good about their country. Trump is just like him, except he is playing to the angry conservatives in America; and probably going to bed each night laughing his ass off at how gullible people are.

While I do not disagree with a lot of what Trump is saying; I realize that Trump is the consummate showman and knowing that he is just playing to what angers many conservatives; issues that the Republican Party should have stood for or taken action upon years ago.

But there is one thing I’ve been hearing Trump supporters say that concerns me; his talk about going in and kicking ISIS’s ass. That bothers me. Don’t get me wrong, I do not support ISIS or what it stands for; it’s just that I don’t think that we should just send our troops over there to fight then in pre-emptive war.

In fact, this whole War on Terror has been a Pandora’s Box since it began; and probably for decades before 9/11 happened. People have to realize that the people of that region have been fighting amongst themselves for thousands of years and for us to be naive enough to think we can bring peace and stability to the region is beyond my ability to understand.

America has had problems with Islam since the beginning our nation’s existence. In our earliest years Islamic pirates; known as the Barbary Pirates, were raiding trade ships along the Barbary Coast. For years America had to pay tribute to these pirates to keep them from raiding our trade ships. Finally, under the presidency of Thomas Jefferson a navy flotilla was built strong enough to deal with them. Although a political solution was finally reached, without a show of force the Barbary Pirates would not have been forced to accept a peaceful resolution. So it seems overwhelming force is the only thing these people respect. Going into these ass backward countries and trying to establish a democracy is beyond insane, as their religion dictates their law; and the freedom which democracy provides is the antithesis of their Sharia Law; they are simply incompatible. So either we go in, kick their ass sufficiently to make them fear us, or we stay out and don’t get involved in their countries at all.

But that’s the problem, we have been meddling in their internal affairs for a very long time; all because they have one precious commodity we need…oil. Can you honestly tell yourself that were there no oil in the Middle East we would care what happens over there? Well, aside for our blind and foolish alliance with Israel, that is. You really need to do some research into the difference between the Jewish people and the political entity which is the State of Israel; they are two different creatures entirely and one of them is not our friend.

Our elected officials and our news media tell us Iran is our biggest enemy over there; that their getting a nuclear weapon should be our biggest fear. Maybe, but have you ever stopped to ask yourself why we should fear Iran? Could it be because of all that we have done to that country?

In 1953, under orders from President Eisenhower, the CIA planned and orchestrated a military coup that overthrew the legitimately elected Prime Minister, Massadegh. (Google Operation Ajax) After he was successfully removed the US installed the puppet Shah of Iran who was friendly to US interests; especially US oil companies who received close to 60% of the denationalized oil found in Iran.

The Shaw was a brutal dictator, killing thousands of his people who opposed his rule. It was the Shah’s brutality which led to the uprising that brought the Ayatollah Khomeini into power and the Iranian hostage crisis during the presidency of Jimmy Carter.

Then there was the Iran/Contra affair where the US was selling arms to Iran, which just happened to on an arms embargo list, and then funneling the funds to the Contra’s in Nicaragua.

We also cannot forget the Iran Iraq war where we provided military support, technology, biological weapons, and intelligence to Saddam Hussein to use against, not only the Iranians, but his own people. Then under GW Bush we were forced to go in and deal with Saddam.

The point I’m trying to make is that by our meddling over there we end up creating more problems for ourselves than had we just stayed neutral. In Federalist 4, future Supreme Court Justice John Jay wrote, “But the safety of the people of America against dangers from foreign force depends not only on their forbearing to give just causes of war to other nations, but also on their placing and continuing themselves in such a situation as not to invite hostility or insult; for it need not be observed that there are pretended as well as just causes of war.”


That is no longer the America that we live in. Instead we find ourselves involved militarily in conflicts across the globe; whether it be under the banner of a war on terror, or some UN resolution, all without a formal declaration of war from Congress.

In regards to waging war against the American Indians, President George Washington declared, “The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure.”

Before the Constitution was ratified, James Wilson assured the delegates to the Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, “This system will not hurry us into war; it is calculated to guard against it. It will not be in the power of a single man, or a single body of men, to involve us in such distress; for the important power of declaring war is vested in the legislature at large: this declaration must be made with the concurrence of the House of Representatives: from this circumstance we may draw a certain conclusion that nothing but our interest can draw us into war.”

In Federalist 3, John Jay declared, “The number of wars which have happened or will happen in the world will always be found to be in proportion to the number and weight of the causes, whether real or pretended, which provoke or invite them…. The just causes of war, for the most part, arise either from violation of treaties or from direct violence.”

How many conflicts has the US found herself in where the supposed enemy never directed any violence towards us? What about this so-called War on Terror? Most of these supposed hijackers were identified as being Saudi or Egyptian; so why did we invade Iraq and Afghanistan?

How can you fight a war on terror and expect to have a victory day? What country does terror reside it; where is it on a map? The war on terror is merely a justification for a blank check for the use of military force wherever the Commander in Chief declares to be a threat to national security. What if the Commander in Chief declares that threat is on US soil, against patriots whom he considers a threat to his actions?
Can’t happen you say? Read the following three quotes from James Madison and then get back to me with your answer:




I know I have taken this a long way from where it began, but I just wanted to vent about those Trump supporters who agree with his saying he wants to kick ISIS’s ass. For cryin out loud, ISIS wouldn’t even exist had we not created a power vacuum in the region in the first place. Even if we eradicate ISIS, someone, something will arise to fill that power vacuum. As bad as Saddam, Kaddafi and Assad are/were they brought some semblance of stability to the region. It was only by our actions that ISIS came into existence. Are we that foolish to believe that we can go in, kick ISIS’s ass, and then go home and everything will be just fine and dandy again?

I don’t expect anyone to listen to me, or to believe a damned thing I say. However, that is why I no longer participate in the four year freak show. I lost all taste for it after I saw how the country as a whole treated Ron Paul; the only one who spoke openly about blowback and the unintended consequences of America’s failed foreign policies.

So go ahead, vote for Trump. Let him go in and kick ISIS’s ass. But I want to make a little side wager with all you Trump supporters. I’m willing to bet that if we do kick ISIS’s ass that within ten years some other threat arises in the region that will require that we once again send our sons and daughters into harm’s way. After all, gotta keep the bankers who finance war and the military industrial complex who profit from the armaments used in war in business, don’t we?

Any takers?

About Br'er Rabbit

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