The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior..

[Fumesucker]

Extrapolating from the past behavior of the USA does anyone reading this post seriously think America is going to have peace in our lifetimes?

I changed my avatar to a peace sign a few days ago but I'm under no illusion that we're going to have peace.

Goering said it best:

"Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on
a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of
it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people
don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in
Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the
country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to
drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist
dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no
voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.
That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked,
and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the
country to danger. It works the same in any country."

Hell, we've been having a war against our own citizens for going on forty years now and that piece of arrant imbecility shows no signs of coming to an end.

[BeatleBoot]

1. I changed my avatar, too.

I changed my avatar to Santy Clause a few days ago on account of I'm under no illusion that we're going to have a happy Christmas.

[Goldstein1984]

2. Our son is a soldier scheduled to go to Afghanistan in early 2010

I'm not telling anyone for sympathy. I just want the proximity of war to be understood. A lot of people are affected directly or indirectly by Obama's decision to perpetuate this meaningless war.

Great Goering quote. It rings true every time I read it.

Thanks for that post.

[Fumesucker]

3. May your son stay safe...

And return to you whole in both body and mind.

Some truths are indeed self evident, it is self evident to me that our political class, our movers and shakers, do not desire peace.

If you have a son old enough to go to war then you must remember the "peace dividend"..

What a cruel jape that has become.

[Goldstein1984]

4. I'm old

I'm old enough to remember duck and cover nuclear attack drills in the second grade. I remember tagging along with my cousin on Vietnam War protest marches when I was twelve. And I remember the peace dividend, and that we spent it going from Cold War to Persian Gulf War, and now here we are.

War is good for business. Old, wealthy people start them, then send young poor people to die in them.

I think it's time to go back into peace activist mode.

I'm not sure my beads still fit, though.

[Fumesucker]

5. Kick for the weekend Krewe..

Edited to add: I find it interesting that my OP has had over 170 hits and yet not a single person has managed to find it possible to make a post disagreeing with my conclusion.

[mitchum]

6. Marcus Aurelius and I agree with you

[treestar]

7. eventually it will be gone

It may take a while. But like slavery it will eventually be gone.

[Fumesucker]

10. As long as we have people who desire power over others there will be war..

Human nature really doesn't change, almost invariably those who get power are those who want it the most.

[Octafish]

8. The War Party

These are the corporations, political leaders and private individuals who benefit from war.

For want of a better handle, I call them them the BFEE.

Others outside of DU are catching on, Fumesucker.

What DUer duetsey found, an interview in which retired Col. Lawrence Wilkerson discusses MI-Congressional Complex and the end of empires:

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/56565

Wilkerson also talked about the last president who said "No" to the War Party and said he considered the Warren Commission to be a whitewash.

Original thread, moved to the DUngeon at the request of certain, eh, DUers:

Ret. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson discusses possibility of a conspiracy to kill JFK

While it may not seem like it, the truth is getting out and the warmongers know their days are numbered.

[Fumesucker]

9. Talk the general public though and they have not a clue..

Even people that are otherwise well educated are easy to fool into supporting war.

I appreciate the links, I read some of the thread while it was on GD, didn't realize it had been moved.

I suspect that China will be the next boogeyman to be used to drum up war fever.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

11. Truth is truth, no matter who speaks it.

Thank you for sharing this.

[madokie]

12. Haven't read that before but I agree 1000 percent if thats possible

none of us wanted to be called cowards so we went but guess what the ones who stood up and refused and protested is the ones who got ours stopped, it wasn't me over there who did it, it was them over here. It is those people who are the hero's same as it'll ultimately be this time. The ones of us who have been there now know why its wrong, the peace makers know only that its wrong so they work to stop it. Ah, the peacemakers, so beautiful, so full of life. There's just nothing quite like the sound of laughter
:hi:

[Fumesucker]

14. Thank you for your service..

I'm not a pacifist in the sense that we should never fight, but I think the vast majority of the conflicts our government finds itself in are engineered for purposes other than the publicly stated ones and could be avoided.

And :hi: back at ya'..

[Profprileasn]

13. Hope so...

It would be great if we do.

[upi402]

15. k/r n/t

[20score]

16. K&R