Friends of Padre Steve’s World,
Today has been a long day with a long round trip to get our driver’s licenses in the state that is our “home of record” for the military. Thankfully it is only one state over, but we had to cross the entirety of our state to get there and back. However after 10 hours on the road I am too tired to write anything new.
However, since another war is brewing in the Middle East and maybe even another in Eastern Europe, it is a poignant time to remember just who profits from war, and by the way it’s not the regular guy or gal o the street or the soldier who fights the war.
So here is an older post containing a chapter of Major General Smedley Butler’s classic anti-war book “War is a Racket.”
Have a great night,
Peace
Padre Steve+
In an age where Defense contractors overcharge and under produce, where lobbyists for them ensure that congressional leaders and other elected officials and appointees cater to the needs of these corporations it is important to know who profits from war. It is certainly not the military personnel, nor is it the taxpayer.
The sad fact is that the people that profit from unending war are those who really couldn’t care less about the economy, except as it benefits them nor care about the taxpayers or those that they send into battle in wars that do little or nothing to enhance the security this nation, or for that matter the security of those we are supposedly fight for.
Major General Smedley Butler who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor twice, and earned the ire of the Hoover Administration for criticizing Mussolini wrote a book called War is a Racket.I…
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The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 
I always want to be careful when people start talking about the profits of war. The fact of the matter is a determined ideologist can bring war to our door step whether we want it or not. If you are on the defensive you may very well be expending considerable resources just keeping production going. This is what Speer often talked about concerning the strategic bombing campaign against Germany.
War is often fought over a variety of issues: Mass migration and the loss of territory, the need for agricultural or natural resources, religious or secular ideology, even national or ethnic identity. Money isn’t the only reason wars are fought. There are people in this country who are waging a defacto war against our energy infrastructure in the name of global warming and environmental stewardship, and they don’t give a rip about the economic impacts of their rigid policies! They are going after strategic targets, and they are doing a better job of destroying them than whole squadrons of bombers!
Ideology often trumps economics!
David,
Thanks for your comments and I do appreciate them, however Smedley Butler, like me is criticizing a certain type of people who profit off off war, they have not changed over the years and even Dwight Eisenhower spoke up about them. I understand the need for strong defense but you have missed the point of this post. Even now the defense contractors and their lobbyists have a stranglehold on Congress and the military. We get weapons systems that do not perform, that come in massively over budget and the efficacy of which are doubtful at best. That does not count the corporations like KBR that we have contracted the support of our troops to who employ people who are little more than indentured servants and whose terms of employment resemble human trafficking.
I don’t deny the the fact that we have to fight people that attack us, in fact if you read my articles about the Islamic State you will see that I know they have to be defeated. That being said pod, the issue of those that profit from war is a separate issue from that. Do we need corporations and an industrial base that can support our actual defense needs? Certainly, WWII was an amazing example of getting the most out of the DIME, that being said in the years since the profiteering has become institutionalized and it is killing our military. The LCS, the F22, the F-35, the Army’s failed Future Combat Vehicle system, the Marine next generation Amtrak, and the list goes on and on and on and includes personal equipment. Likewise the heads of these corporations often support cutting the earned benefits to the troops and their families. They are bloodsuckers.
Nor do I deny that other ideologues threaten national security, including some of the militant environmentalist types, to promote their ideology. But again this is not the issue. The issue is those that unabashedly profit from war without producing systems, weapons or equipment that actually help our troops in combat and enhance national security. That is the issue, and it hasn’t changed since Smedley butler penned his book, in fact most of the culprit corporations of his day are still, through the acquisition of other companies and expansion the very same corporations that profit from war today.
Again, I thank you for you comments and invite you to continue the dialogue.
Peace
Padre Steve+
Thank you for clarifying your stance. There is so much finger pointing these days it alarms me. I often hear people pointing fingers at the likes of the Koch brothers or George Soros, depending on which side the commentator takes.
Glad to clarify, I am much more nuanced and thoughtful than the vast majority of media or blogger types. Blessings!