Military plan is worrisome
Toolbox
Published: December 1, 2009
Currently, there is much concern over President Obama's decision regarding the "war" in Afghanistan. Central to that decision is the military's demand for at least 40,000 more troops.
Much has been said about the obvious corruption of the Afghanistan government and how that should be a factor in the decision Obama will soon make. But the prime determinant of that decision will not be based on that issue. No, the issue that will most affect his decision can be found in the words of one of our past president's farewell address.
President Eisenhower stated in 1961 that "… an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the federal government. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society."
Shortly thereafter President Kennedy had to deal directly with the power of the military-industrial complex. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lyman Lemnitzer, put forth a plan entitled "Operation Northwoods" in response to his intense hatred of communism in general and the Castro regime in Cuba in particular. With the full support of the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff the plan called for innocent people to be shot on American streets; for boats carrying refugees fleeing Cuba to be sunk on the high seas; for a wave of violent terrorism to be launched in Washington, D.C., Miami, and elsewhere. People would be framed for bombings they did not commit; planes would be hijacked. Using phony evidence, all of it would be blamed on Castro, thus giving Lemnitzer and his cabal the excuse, as well as the public and international backing, they needed to launch their war.
This plan did not come to fruition due to Lemnitzer's subsequent removal as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But the power struggle for control was not deterred, the military-industrial complex continued to influence the direction of our government. The Vietnam War, the Iran-Contra affair, two wars in Iraq, and now Afghanistan strongly point out the power the military industrial complex has secured in our government and the control it plays over our daily lives.
President Eisenhower clearly, openly, expressed concern for the threat the military-industrial complex posed for our constitutional system. President Obama will make his decision regarding American's involvement in Afghanistan knowing that to not feed the beast will be to have the beast feed on him.
William Gay
Montpelier
12