Neocon Frederick Kagan, who is against U.S. troops leaving Afghanistan, accidentally admits the failure of U.S. government meddling overseas.
Kagan writes:
Al Qaeda affiliates have grown dramatically in reach, strength, combat power, and territory controlled. Most notably, the al Qaeda franchise in Iraq rebounded from near-defeat in 2011 to a force that now controls significant areas in Iraq while also operating in Syria. Bin Laden’s successor, Ayman al Zawahiri, continues to mediate between dueling al Qaeda franchises in Syria from his hideout in Pakistan. He’s certainly not too busy running from us to concern himself with such matters.
Isn’t that an interesting admission?
After all of the death & destruction, the ruined lives, and the trillions of dollars that have been flushed down the drain, Kagan is not shy to say that Al Qaeda “has grown dramatically in reach, strength, combat power, and territory controlled!”
If Kagan had the ability to see the situation clearly, he would write instead: “Ron Paul was right. U.S. military interventions overseas only create bigger problems.”
But alas, neocons cannot see clearly. When it comes to government, failure is just an opportunity to double-down on your losses. It’s an excuse to keep throwing lives, money and resources into the black hole. Kagan doesn’t want the U.S. aggression to stop. It’s time to dial it up!
Let’s compare this warped view to the peaceful and voluntary side of our lives. At one point, Blockbuster Video had 9,000 retail outlets. Because of technological changes and fierce competition from streaming services, like Netflix, Blockbuster had become obsolete. They were no longer in a position to satisfy consumer desires. As a result, all of the 9,000 retail outlets had to be closed.
Now imagine this: What if Blockbuster refused to admit its failure? What if they refused to close the retail locations? What if, out of a desire to show “strength,” they opened even more locations?
Everyone would think that Blockbuster was insane, right? And they would have to be insane. Why would any rational person knowingly waste resources on purpose? The fact is, that when it’s your money, and your resources, it’s much more difficult to be spiteful.
Sadly, crazed neocons are not dealing with their own money or resources. Because the government has the power to tax (and The Fed has the power to print money) the economic consequences are never really felt by the war profiteers. As a result, they never stop propagandizing for never-ending war. Failure is not an obstacle when you have the power to tax, and print, and borrow.
Only sufficient public resistance, or bankruptcy via a severe financial crisis, will put an end to this madness. Let’s hope that the former occurs, and is able to head off the latter. Unfortunately, neocons are hell-bent on the bankruptcy option.
