the Sins of the Fathers

--STOP 11 (1970),
Peter Kennard

Jumpin' slick was my ruin
'Cause I found out all I was doin'
Was makin' it easy for the clean up woman
To get my man's love, aww, yeah
--The Clean Up Woman,
Betty Wright

I the Lord your God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children
to the third and the fourth generation
of those who hate me
--Exodus 20:5

When we do for those in need
what they have the capacity to do for themselves,
we disempower them
--Toxic Charity,
Robert Lupton

____________________

This year (2017) marks the 100th anniversary of the entrance if the United States as a belligerent into World War I, The War to End All Wars (not). It is also being marketed as the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, a nice halfway point. (And if Ken Burns documents it as such, it must be so.)

How the assassination of a piss ant like Archduke Ferdinand of the bizarre griffon of the Austro-Hungarian empire by a crazed anarchist from Bosnian Serb constituted a necessary military entrance by the U.S. is still contentious. Certainly, the idea of pacification by United States President Wilson left a poor taste in the mouth of a young nation eager to prove its solidarity and efficacy. So men like Wilson were milquetoasts in a world of real men with real problems.

World War II followed in short order. Why was it necessary for a nation with 5% of the world's population to save the other 95%? The arguments are legion, but it is a question worthy of consideration independent of the boilerplate that this was a good and necessary war.

We have been conditioned to believe our participation in both World Wars was necessary, but we usually do not discuss alternative actions or legitimacy issues. We bypass discussing how we can stop the next war or head it off at the pass, in favor of debating techniques for winning it. National security issues are not discussed in any meaningful way.

After WW II -- the Good War -- came the "Forgotten War", the police action of Korea. Legitimacy issues fell by the wayside as each new, unwinnable action took their place in the queue of less-than-Good-Wars..

Fifty years hence, we are still unsure of why the Vietnam War was fought.

Vietnam Syndrome came to embody and signify the wary shame felt by a nation which had lost its moral compass after the cultural upheaval of the 1960's.

Gulf War I was said by then-President George H.W. Bush to have "erased" the black mark that was Vietnam, yet no one stated what it was we were attempting to achieve in either war, or what they contributed to our national life. Even the deaths of 58,000 servicemen could be accepted if they had been killed for anything meaningful.

Vietnam has been eclipsed by the current longest wars fought by America, yet still we do not know what it is we are fighting for, or what we hope to achieve by our entrance into and persistent presence in the hostilities.

Vietnam and the Wars on Terror are intertwined in many ways. In both, the enemy is nebulous. In Vietnam, the Viet Cong were a confederated "front" of organizations with hazy and ambiguous goals, much like any of the actors in the Phony Wars on Terror (PWOT ©).

The Middle East wars were sold as the "Domino Effect" of Communism fears in reverse: with just a wink and a nod, the dominoes would stand up and form a great democracy. But not even the frailest of democracies has emerged from any of the recent U.S. military misadventures.

Our hubris is embarrassing. Many thought that once the abundance of riches possible in a capitalistic democracy was presented, the erstwhile colonized populations would latch on like a greyhound to a rabbit. Perhaps Christianity is found wanting against Islam, or is it just that Christians themselves are in the dark?

Nonetheless, this brooding will not dampen the celebrations of the 100-year cycle, for celebrate we must. That Yankee can-do spirit has brought us through many dark nights, and led to many shining moments. Sadly, our willingness also can and has been exploited to bring us into many questionable entanglements.

Our current aggressions have no meaningful chance of eliminating terrorism nor of producing anything resembling liberal democratic institutions.

For your pleasure, a Zen koan: we cannot explain what Vietnam was about, but we are doing the same things in the Middle East, today.

Why are we so addicted to war? Perhaps it is as Chris Hedges wrote, "war is a force that gives us meaning".

The U.S. finds itself often cleaning up the messes left behind by colonial overlords. Only the problem is, there is no way to leave them spic and span. Invariably the U.S. military rucks up and leaves the rubble and turmoil behind with nothing better; often something worse.

It was never ours to begin with, and we cannot teach them to tidy up in a pacific way. Ours is a toxic charity.

Dead Pan

--Crucifixion, Matthias Grunewald 

~You fired me because I violated the Constitution

~How impetuous of me! 

--Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, John  LeCarre

 Boy, you're gonna carry that weight

Carry that weight a long time

--Carry that Weight, The Beatles

 ~English soldier: Is there someone else up there we can talk to?
~French soldier: No!! Now go away,  or I shall taunt you a second time! 

--French soldier, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

_______________________

The French are getting a piece of the action in the Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©).

It is about time since colonialism led to many of the grievance of terrorists in former French colonies. (Ditto the British.)  In fact, one theory traces all terrorism back to the centers of British and French excesses during their colonial periods of exploitation.  Ah, but how France's American cousin treats the story is telling.

The Associated Press reports on the "gruesome display" by Somali militants of a dead French soldier on an al-Shabab-run Twitter account:

"In a gruesome display that included a taunt of France's president, Somali militants on Monday posted photos of what appeared to be a dead French soldier surrounded by weapons and gear."

The gruesome display of one dead French soldier is meant to rouse us from our impending public opinion rout eleven years on into the PWOT ©.  But how is this more gruesome than the United States press featuring the tortured corpses of Qusay and Uday Hussein, or the military putting the bust of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on display following his assassination?  What about the "leaked" camera shot of Saddam Hussein's botched hanging, or the film of Libya's former leader Qaddafi being murdered while being sodomized with a stick?  Gruesome is as gruesome does, to paraphrase Mr. Gump.

Where does civilized end and gruesome begin? Is it as simple as, if we do it, it's civilized; if they do it, it is barbaric?

What about some of our iconography: Isn't Jesus hanging on the cross gruesome?  What about the depictions of the Stations of the Cross? But since these images have inspired religions, they get a pass, and have even been raised to the sublime.

Speaking of religious figures brings Ranger to the Crusades, murder most faithful. It is strange that the U.S. is assisting the French in their African ventures since the French have been killing, mutilating and torturing Africans since the days of the First Crusade, almost 1,000 years ago.  Why do they need help from the U.S.?  Let the French carry their own weight.

The U.S. has lost enough soldiers since 1918 cleaning up their messes; let's keep out of their fights.

Veterans day 2012: Frenemies

--Grief, Dmitri Baltermants

___________________

A former Marine of "Edson's Raiders" fame recently told Ranger, "If we lost Guadalcanal, we'd be speaking Japanese now."

It seemed like a stretch, but it got me thinking about the war fought by the Greatest Generation (men for whom Ranger holds the highest respect and admiration) and asking the question: Was the entry of the United States into World War II valid and legitimate?  (It was that war which predicated later U.S. involvement in Korea and Vietnam.)

History must tell its tale, but let us look at the precipitating war in Europe.  While both Hitler and Stalin invaded Poland, the U.S. held Hitler responsible, embracing Stalin as an ally.  At war's end, Poland was left worse by becoming a Soviet satellite state.

The British and French were saved through U.S. largess, but it was French colonialism that led the U.S.into a neo-Colonial war in Southeast Asia.  The European continent was left disastrously divided after the war; the concert of Europe was destroyed.

While the U.S. was attacked by the Japanese in the Pacific theatre, we do not ask why.   Why did the U.S. have a fleet in the Pacific?  Why did the U.S. forebear the depredations of French and English Colonial policy, but deny the same objectives to the Japs?  Did we find white European Colonials more palatable than yellows?  How did U.S. policy turn hostile towards Japan in less than a 50-year span?

Why did the U.S. fight to preserve China from Jap occupation, then fight China in Korea less than six years later?  Why do we now protect Japan from the Chinese?  Why did the U.S. allow the Brits and especially the French to reestablish colonies in Southeast Asia after they collaborated with the Japanese? Ditto the French in Europe.

--Jew Killings in Ivangorad, Kiev (1942)

How did our Soviet allies morph into enemies virtually overnight?

My point is, U.S. wars are portrayed as something other than the exercises in futility which they are.  On Veterans day we honor the vets but we never ask, "Why did they fight?", and "Do the proffered reasons clash with the reality?"  We are as driven by slogans and propaganda as were the people we fought.

Here is a novel thought:  Why not honor combat veterans by eliminating future wars?

We entered WWII after 2,000+ U.S. servicemen were killed in a surprise  attack, while the ensuing war resulted in 400,000+ U.S. combat deaths, with another 670,000 wounded.  Millions of enemy soldiers and civilians were killed.

What did the U.S. gain from WWII?  Were the results worth the efforts?  Why is our response to violence always more violence?

Dancing with the Stars

--PlayBill, Mr. Fish


I'm sick of their timid, lying morality
--Col. Kurtz, Apocalypse Now

Never interrupt your enemy
while he is making a mistake
--Napoleon Bonaparte

Kiss his boots or you'll be through
Out of the night comes a soldier right
Line you up in his gunsight
His mind's exploded, ego's overloaded
--The Cult, Soldier Blue
_________________

Happy Day After Thanksgiving -- hope everyone enjoyed a nice holiday. I'm sure we all count our blessings. We are grateful for our many kind readers, without whom this project wouldn't fly. We began the blog as naifs, and feel fortunate to have established friendships with many fine and fascinating people along the way. For that, we are thankful.

p.s. -- and if you suffered a bit of familial stress over the holiday, today's graphic is in the spirit of offering a little larf (those screwy Republicans, always upping the outrageousness bar ... )

Today, Ranger presents a two-part ramble through history, a whirlwind tour with a goal; Ranger's history lollapalooza. As always, commentary is welcome.

Let's dance through U.S. and world history reflecting upon our choice of partners and tunes as we whirl around the dance floor to the tunes being played. Just for fun.

Up first: Spanish-American War. This put the U.S. firmly in the imperial club by adding former Spanish colonial possessions to the U.S. collection of colonial properties. This was seen as a good, forgetting that democracy and colonial domination are contradictory terms.

The Spanish-American War can be seen as the initial campaign of World War II since U.S. possessions and interests in the Philippine Isles led to direct imperial and colonial conflict with the Japanese. This Spanish war was fought with a large professional Navy and a small professional Army augmented with volunteer-type militia units.

The Spanish-American War got the U.S. into the business of insurgency. In the Cuban theatre the U.S. supported the anti-Spanish insurgents and in the Philippines we fought the anti-colonial forces of evil. Those fighting against U.S. forces failed to recognize the beauty of being colonial possessions. An older generation of McArthurn led troops in that Philippine Insurrection. Let us not forget that this and the colonial Boer Wars were the first modern historical British and American usage of large concentration/internment camps for civilians.

The U.S. then became involved in the Boxer Rebellion suppressing Chinese insurgents who erroneously believed that China should be ruled by the Chinese. Silly naive and ignorant Chinamen. The U.S. at the time was originating a counterinsurgency policy which boiled down to the basic tune: Do what we say, or you're going to meet the U.S. Marines. And we all know that is a fate worse than messing with Mother Nature herself.

Next up, World War I, offering to "Make the World Safe for Democracy." A joke, since the war was actually a European family squabble about which nation was to get the largest share of the colonial pie. U.S. allies called themselves democracies and they were, except for the fact that the sun never set on the British, U.S. French, Dutch and German colonies.

Democracy triumphed, and France and England got to appropriate former German colonies. The Middle East became a playground for British and French interests and Southeast Asia became a French plaything. So the Allied victory in WWI secured democracy, but it is difficult to find any beneficial recipients of this blessing.

WWI set the stage for WWII in the Pacific theatre, which in turn caused U.S. entry into the continuation of WWI in Europe, the continued squabble between old enemies and friends.

The inspection of the Pacific War boils down to the U.S., British and French desires and policies to deny Japan any Imperial colonial aspirations. The white men can do as they please, but the little yellow people were denied the same possibilities.

So the U.S. fought a two-front war to deny Hitler and Hirohito hegemony, replacing these enemies with a Stalinist Eastern Europe and a Communist China, not forgetting that the French are still playing around in SE Asia.

Next: Korea.

Neo Colonialism

Rainer Hachfeld, Neues Deutschland

The obscure we see eventually.
The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer
--Edward R. Murrow

We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves
--Goethe

Quick decisions are unsafe decisions
--Sophocles

For I have sworn thee fair,
and thought thee bright,
who art as black as hell,
as dark as night
--Sonnet 147, Shakespeare
________________

A recent New York Times feature discussed Infantry and combat soldiers getting pedicures because their boots are so harsh on their feet.

Imagine that! Soldiers now train and run in running shoes, versus my generation which did everything to include physical training in our boots. When was the last time someone ran in combat in running shoes?

Anyway, the pedicures started Ranger thinking about comparisons between counterinsurgency, then (Vietnam) and now. (He is wearing his Special Forces cap while making the comparisons.)

In Vietnam -- as in Iraq and Afghanistan -- there were serious disconnects between COIN as practiced by SF units versus that practiced by maneuver units. The advisers of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) shared the SF experience and deserve to be called Special Ops since they actually lived, fought and died serving VN units as embedded advisers.

In the Vietnam war, SF types lived, worked and stood side-by-side with the Vietnamese and indigenous troops. We knew them as soldiers and friends and knew their families, attending weddings, funerals and celebrations. We were invited into their homes, we ate and drank together, played and had personal realtionships.

Many say disapraging things about the RVN's ability to fight, but Ranger served with RVN soldiers that fought at Dien Bien Phu and were combat-hardened and wise. They were at DBP, but they were Viet Minh, and crossed to the South after the Communist takeover of the North. They had forgotten more about fighting than most U.S. officers knew.

Most of the VN/SF officers were educated and westernized and spoke both French and English. Most were Catholic. Yet despite all of this, we still lost. [But there is a karmic gain, as we now have Asian nail salons in every mall in America and on the bases in the Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©) to tend to the soldier's rough paws.]

But seriously: though COIN strategy in RVN was solid and institutional, it could not change the reality of the war. That reality was that colonialism of any form was longer acceptable. Any government government was more acceptable to the VN than one imposed from external sources. That is one lesson from COIN in VN we still have not gotten.

Soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan can describe their own experiences implementing COIN, but Ranger cautions them to sweep aside the rhetoric and see what is real. What is real is not U.S. combat power alone. Tom Ricks The Gamble explains why Iraq is a political failure, even as it seems The Surge was a military success.

Ricks says violence went down for a number of reasons, including the U.S. shift to protecting the Iraqis by functioning more like soldiers on the beat. But the troops are not cops. Policing should be the function of the Iraqi Army and police.

Iraqi interpreters are back to wearing face masks to conceal their identity (Iraqi Interpreters May Wear Masks.) That says something about the U.S. reception seven years on.

--Jim