Tomgram: William Astore, A New Age of "Enlightened" War
Posted by William Astore at 10:00AM, May 12, 2011.
In case you hadn’t noticed, they are -- no kidding around -- absolutely the niftiest non-humans on Earth. I’m speaking about the special operations force of Navy SEALs that took out Osama bin Laden. They and their special ops colleagues are “supermen” (ABC News), “X-men” (Jon Stewart), “America’s Jedi Knights” (the New York Times), and that’s just to pick the odd example in a sea of churning hyperbole. For the last week, while the bin Laden operation swallowed almost 69% of all news space according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, they have been the most reported upon Xtra Special Soldiers anywhere, possibly of all time -- from the “square-jawed admiral from Texas” who commanded them right down to the dog (oops... “possible war hero”) they reportedly took along.
In an era when U.S. troops have become little short of American idols, seldom have the media gone quite so nuts as over those SEALs and the other military and CIA “teams” that make up our counterterrorism forces. You couldn’t pay for this sort of publicity. It would, in fact, hardly be an exaggeration to say that all of American society has, for the last 10 days, been “embedded” with them. But here’s the strange thing (or perhaps I mean the strangest thing of all): if you read most of the over-the-top press about America’s special ops troops, you probably think that they are tiny crews of elite forces divided into even tinier teams trained to dispel global darkness and take out the bin Ladens of the world.
No such thing. Almost a year ago, the Washington Post reported that there were at least 13,000 U.S. special operations troops deployed overseas in (no, this is not a typo) 75 countries, a significant expansion of these forces in the Obama era. Since thousands of them remain in the U.S. at any moment, Washington may now have up to 20,000 special operations troops on hand and the odds are that there will be even more after the bin Laden publicity blitz has had a chance to work its charms. In the latest Pentagon budget, the Obama administration had already asked for $10.5 billion to pay for special forces, a tripling of their budget since 2001 -- and that figure is sure to rise in the years to come, as media slavering turns into congressional slavering.
Keep in mind that this growing set of secret forces cocooned inside the U.S. military, along with the missile-armed pilotless drones fighting the CIA’s semi-secret war in Pakistan (which also got a modest publicity boost from the bin Laden operation), add up to the newly dominant form of American conflict: presidential war fought on the sly and beyond any serious kind of accountability to the American people. In return for ponying up the necessary dough, for instance, Congress is now practically begging just to be updated on the executive’s counterterror operations four times a year.
As TomDispatch regular and retired Lieutenant Colonel William Astore makes clear, “remote war” on the imperial peripheries of the planet is a direct danger to this country, to us, and it’s growing by the day. Tom
OK? I am now confused!Did byte & chew change? I am a VET and have strong feeling about the latest happenings!But has this form changed to this topic or are we still talking about BERLINS future??(ie,laidlaw.psnh,berlin station,burgess biopower,? help me out here?????
Posted by: wood burner | May 12, 2011 at 07:13 PM
We'll talk about anything your heart desires, but we're the ones paying the bills for our little adventures all over the world. This issue needs to be put on the table. When Washington starts talking about cutting Social Security, Medicare, College Loans etc but we can spend BILLIONS per month on a variety of military actions, I believe it's a relevant topic.
Posted by: Rocky | May 12, 2011 at 09:44 PM
Wow, Now this is a turn of events. Rocky, why don't you take this up with Obama the Magnificent, or at least the DNC as I can sense You have torn up the Obama Poster You bought back in 2008. So, The Left really has left the Reservation. I'm Pleased to See that You have Finally got the message on Govt. Overspending...albeit that the Money is not being Wasted..er Spent where You would like to see it Wast..Spent. You realize Kucinich is Unelectable, although that Impeachment Idea has Merit. Screaming Lord Sutch, er Howard Dean....Mmnnff! Moondog Brown? Ralph Nader? Aw Shucks, guess you're stuck with BHO....
Although I would be Happy to see a repeat of the Democrat Convention of '68, I'll leave You with another Blast from the Past with: "Hey, Hey LBJ, How Many Kids did You Kill Today?"
Lets END THIS WAR????
Posted by: warren, | May 13, 2011 at 03:15 AM
Looking at the civilian side of the ledger:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703864204576314802790577650.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read
Posted by: Antonio Andolini | May 13, 2011 at 09:53 AM
Spend "a few billion dollars" in Libya(?)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/12/libyan-opposition-leader-visit-white-house-friday/
Posted by: Antonio Andolini | May 13, 2011 at 10:12 AM
Looks like we have a New TEA Member at Byte & Chew. Welcome Aboard Antonio! How does it Feel to be a "Simplistic Moron?"
Posted by: warren, | May 13, 2011 at 01:40 PM
Rocky,
Two things need to be said my leftist friend;
1.) Billions spent on the special forces to help eliminate terrorist dirt bags is money well spent.
2.) I agree with you in one respect. You definitely are close minded.
Don't take offense, but your posts are getting worse and worse.
Take care,
WN
Posted by: Wing Nut | May 13, 2011 at 11:46 PM
What the youts have to say:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I4EsfnUGrI&feature=player_embedded
Posted by: Antonio Andolini | May 14, 2011 at 10:11 AM
Thanks for your honest opinion WN. The last two post are clearly not mine, but are posts that I thought were worth exploring. I was taught as a child that two wrongs don't make a right and I believe that our country did not act in an honorable manner in the Bin Laden matter. We are a nation of laws and summarily executing anybody without due process is contrary to my beliefs and to what I believe this country stood for. Dirt bag he was, but until we collectively identify who is and who is not a dirt bag and who needs to be executed for being a dirt bag through a legal process, I'll continue to oppose such actions. What led us into WW-2 was the action of a leader and his followers who believed that Jews were dirt bags and that they should be eliminated. My friend, when anybody starts going down that path they're on a slippery road.
Posted by: Rocky | May 14, 2011 at 10:56 AM
"...Pleased to meet You...Hope You've Guessed My Name!!!"
Rocky has Sympathy for Bin Laden, Go Figure...
P.S. And I thought what led US into WW-2 was the Bombing of Pearl Harbor. Despite the Chicanery of FDR in the North Atlantic ( USS Reuben James ), Americans Wanted Neutrality...
Adml's Kimmel & Short....Intelligence on a Jap. Task Force...
Enigma Code Machine's...Bletchley Park...FDR Guilty of witholding Advanced Warning of Impending Attack after cutting off Jap access to Oil? Compare with WW-1, when Secretary of the Navy....FDR! and 1st Lord of Admirality..Winston Churchill
conspired over the Lusitania...which was carrying Gun Cotton, and Rich Folks....And the "NEED" for a "League of Nations" and Safety for "Democracy"...
Posted by: warren, | May 14, 2011 at 02:14 PM
Hark, is that the babbling brook we hear again?
...babble...babble...babble...
Aye, it has returned.
Posted by: Antonio Andolini | May 14, 2011 at 07:23 PM
That's weird Antonio, I don't hear anything????????
Posted by: Rocky | May 14, 2011 at 07:38 PM
Aye Antonio! You would make a Grand Cast Member in Barbara Garson's "MacBird"!!....perhaps as one of the Three Witches.
Look that up in Your Funk & Wagnall.
Posted by: warren, | May 15, 2011 at 02:18 AM