Fwd: Preparing for 2017 . . . and beyond

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Hemington
Date: Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 7:55 PM

Well, we'd better be getting prepared for Hillary to ascend to the throne of the Empire next January.  Her neocon allies are already hitting the pavement pushing for the removal of Putin as President of Russia – if not a direct military attack on Russia (see second attachment).  Hillary has pretty much indicated that this sort of policy is right in her wheelhouse.  She'll likely begin with the establishment of a " no-fly zone" in Syria.  This will almost certainly bring the U.S. or one of our surrogates in direct conflict with Russia.  The U.S. propaganda ministry has been operating overtime to convince our citizens and the rest of the world that Russia is the criminal aggressor in Syria.  And we should all be aware that, no matter how we may feel about the Assad regime, it is still the internationally recognized government of Syria; and, as such, has invited Russia to lawfully be in the country fighting the so-called rebel forces sponsored by the U.S. and NATO countries (see first attachment).  Thus, the U.S. and all of the rest are in the position of being international war criminals operating in clear violation of international law such as it is these days.

In Syria as in other areas of the Middle East the U.S. has been operating in an effective alliance – supplying arms, ammunition and other support to al Qaeda and its various offshoot organizations such as the al Nusra front in an illegal effort to overthrow the Assad regime all the while claiming that we are fighting against ISIS.  This is a proxy war that does not bode well for either the U.S. or for the world.  There are now multiple high ranking military officers, up to and perhaps including the Secretary of Defense, strongly advocating a direct assault on Russia.  This would, of course be the height of folly and might well result in the termination of human life on earth – although perhaps quicker and less painful than waiting for climate change to play out in a century or two. 

In this the collective hubris of the neocon crowd is beyond measure and belief, but that has never stopped them before.  They were, after all, the primary force behind the illegal war on Iraq in 2003 and continuing, as well as Libya and now Syria.  The fact that it also generates vast wealth from government coffers to the defense industry and multitudes of private contractors taking advantage of the virtually bottomless pit of welfare being dispensed provides political momentum.  It is also enabled by very fact of a volunteer military which is also incentivized by endless war in which promotions are frequent and, for senior officers, lucrative positions with contractors, lobbyists and as "color commentators" for cable TV are sure to follow. 

Unfortunately little attention is given in the media or otherwise to the massive death, destruction, displacement and terror which is imposed on those in the countries we choose to assault in the name of freeing them from terrible dictators and imposing democracy – whether or not anything like democracy ever follows.  Nor is any real thought given to those American volunteers sacrificed to the Empire's war machine.  The only time casualties really seem to matter is when they can be blamed – whether true or not – on the supposed enemy whoever it might be this week.  The important condition is that the wars must go on.  Too much is a stake for peace to be permitted to break out; too much wealth to be forfeited. 

This is the price of Empire.  The boundaries must always be expanded and defended; and the enemies are always at hand.  More importantly, if there are no convenient enemies some must be found or created otherwise the populace might become restive and revolt.  In this empire, just like many in the past, the real fruits gradually fail to be distributed to the masses at home as the oligarchs and plutocrats hoard the spoils to themselves.  But this Empire is even more different from most past empires in that there don't really appear to be many spoils from battlefields and conquered provinces.  The wealth that is accumulated is mainly taken from the citizens of the "homeland" and therein lies a potential fatal flaw.  Once the mass of the people figure out just how they are being scammed and abused by their leaders they are likely to refuse to cooperate – and empires, no matter how powerful do not survive forever.

We are, I believe, now seeing the beginnings of such anger arising in the current election cycle.  Most of those long frustrated at being left behind still haven't come to realize why exactly their situation is as it is, but they at least recognize that the deck is stacked against them by their putative leaders and they don't want more of the same.  Most of us still remain victims of the Empire's propaganda machine which incessantly inveighs us to blame and fight one another.  Still, there is just a glimmer of recognition beginning to develop that the real problem is not down here among the "little people", as our politicians are fond of terming the rest of us, but up there among those who serve the masters of the machine as well as the masters themselves. 

Unfortunately the neocon space cadets, none of whom have ever served their nation in the military, may manage to get us all annihilated before there is enough sentiment aroused to take down the Empire and return the nation to the people.  But, until that time, we must work to resist and overcome these forces of death and destruction.  It is not much hope, but it is all there is.

John