Ciências Humanas e Sociais
«The New American Militarism: how americans are seduced by war», cujo autor é Andrew Bacevich, professor, veterano da guerra do Vietname, lança um libelo contra o complexo militar-industrial norte-americano, fornecendo não argumentos mas muitos dados sobre o crescendo militarismo norte-americano. Uma leitura útil, pois.
Reproduz-se aqui um comentário retirado de uma conhecida livraria virtual sobre este livro:
According to many of the custodians of public opinion, Andrew Bacevich has earned his right to a fair hearing. Not only is he a graduate of West Point, a Vietnam veteran, and a conservative Catholic, he is a professor of international relations and a contributor to "The Weekly Standard" and "The National Review." Obviously, if he were a left-leaning anti-war Democrat and a contributor to, say, "The Nation," he wouldn't be taken seriously as a critic of American militarism - he would be merely another "blame-America-first" defeatist.
- Semana De Acção Lisboa 2010 / Week Of Action Against Nato In Lisbon (15-24 Nov.) - Call To Action
Come to Lisbon. Protest against the NATO summit in Portugal Para além do site http://antinatoportugal.wordpress.com/ surgiu agora um novo website dedicado exclusivamente à semana de acção não violenta contra a guerra e contra a NATO, a decorrer entre...
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Os cientistas franceses juntam-se aos seus colegas de todo o mundo, e apelam agora ao presidente francês para tudo fazer junto da Administração Bush no sentido desta não aprovar a nova doutrina nuclear norte-americana em preparação. Ver: http://science-appel.com...
- Todos Os Estudantes Norte-americanos Passaram A Ser Fichados Pelo Pentágono
O ministério da defesa norte-americano começou a trabalhar com uma empresa privada com o objectivo de criar uma base de dados para recensear os estudantes liceais de 16 a 18 anos, assim como todos os restantes estudantes universitários, com o objectivo...
Ciências Humanas e Sociais
«O novo militarismo americano», um livro de Andrew Bacevich
«The New American Militarism: how americans are seduced by war», cujo autor é Andrew Bacevich, professor, veterano da guerra do Vietname, lança um libelo contra o complexo militar-industrial norte-americano, fornecendo não argumentos mas muitos dados sobre o crescendo militarismo norte-americano. Uma leitura útil, pois.
Reproduz-se aqui um comentário retirado de uma conhecida livraria virtual sobre este livro:
According to many of the custodians of public opinion, Andrew Bacevich has earned his right to a fair hearing. Not only is he a graduate of West Point, a Vietnam veteran, and a conservative Catholic, he is a professor of international relations and a contributor to "The Weekly Standard" and "The National Review." Obviously, if he were a left-leaning anti-war Democrat and a contributor to, say, "The Nation," he wouldn't be taken seriously as a critic of American militarism - he would be merely another "blame-America-first" defeatist.
Bacevich sees militarism manifesting itself in some disquieting ways. Traditionally America has always gauged the size of its military with the magnitude of impending threats. After the Civil War, World War I and II, the military was downsized as threats receded. Not so after the fall of the Soviet Union. The military budget has continued to grow and the expenditures are greater - by some measures - than all other countries combined. American military forces are now scaling the globe and the American public seems quiet comfortable with it. And everyone else is growing uneasy.
The mindset of the current officer corps is dominant control in all areas "whether sea, undersea, land, air, space or cyberspace." In other words, supremacy in all theaters. Self-restraint has given way to the normalization of using military force as a foreign policy tool. From 1989 (Operation Just Cause) to 2002 (Operation Iraqi Freedom) there have been nine major military operations and a number of smaller ones. The end of the Cold War has given the US a preponderance of military strength (the proverbial unipolar moment) that has enamoured successive administrations with the idea of using military force to solve international problems. In earlier times, war was always an option of the last resort, now it is a preventative measure.
War, according to Bacevich, has taken on a new aesthetic. During World War I and II, and also Vietnam and Korea the battlefield was a slaughterhouse of barbarism and brutality. Now, with the advent of the new Wilsonianism in Washington, wars are seen as moments of national unity to carry out a positive agenda, almost as if it were international social work.
The modern soldier is no longer looked upon as a deadbeat or a grunt, but rather as a skilled professional who is undertaking socially beneficial work. In fact, in a poll taken in 2003, military personnel consider themselves as being of higher moral standards than the nation they serve.
In the political classes, the Republicans have traditionallly been staunchly pro-military, but now even Democrats have thrown off their ant-military inclinations. When Kerry was running for president he did not question Bush's security policies, he was actually arguing that Bush had not gone far enough. Kerry wanted to invest more in military hardware and training. Even leftist Michael Ignatieff argues that US military intervention should be used to lessen the plight of the oppressed and that we should be assisting them in establishing more representative government. But superpowers are not altruistic; they are only altruistic to the extent that it serves their self-interest. That's probably why Ignatieff will not get much of a hearing and Bacevich will. This book should give us pause as to why the range of opinion in the America on the use of military force is so narrow. If there is one voice that stands a chance of being heeded, it is from this conservative ex-soldier.
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- Semana De Acção Lisboa 2010 / Week Of Action Against Nato In Lisbon (15-24 Nov.) - Call To Action
Come to Lisbon. Protest against the NATO summit in Portugal Para além do site http://antinatoportugal.wordpress.com/ surgiu agora um novo website dedicado exclusivamente à semana de acção não violenta contra a guerra e contra a NATO, a decorrer entre...
- Nas Lajes Não! Assina A Petição: Somos Contra O Treino Da Caças F-22 Americanos Na Base Das Lajes
Bases militares norte-americanas espalhadas pelo mundo Petição Somos contra o treino de caças F-22 americanos na Base das Lajes Os aviões F-22 e F-35 vão começar a treinar sobre o Oceano Atlântico com suporte na base das Lajes. Os primeiros...
- Nem Mais Um Cêntimo Para A Guerra
Nem mais um cêntimo para a guerra Not One Penny More for War! Bush pediu ao Congresso mais 72 biliões de dólares para a sua guerra imoral !!! President Bush has asked Congress for another $72 billion for his immoral war in Iraq. Congress has the...
- Apelo Internacional Contra As Novas Doutrinas Nucleares Dos Estados Unidos
Os cientistas franceses juntam-se aos seus colegas de todo o mundo, e apelam agora ao presidente francês para tudo fazer junto da Administração Bush no sentido desta não aprovar a nova doutrina nuclear norte-americana em preparação. Ver: http://science-appel.com...
- Todos Os Estudantes Norte-americanos Passaram A Ser Fichados Pelo Pentágono
O ministério da defesa norte-americano começou a trabalhar com uma empresa privada com o objectivo de criar uma base de dados para recensear os estudantes liceais de 16 a 18 anos, assim como todos os restantes estudantes universitários, com o objectivo...