Military Advisors, Peacekeepers & Other Wrong-Headed Righteousness

Sportsfans, thanks for making the choice to read my article.

Photo: Pixabay by STRIEWA, https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/pdm/

Nuclear blast

Yours Truly is a strong believer in the concept of Free Will, which spans multiple disciplines. To Wit:

• In Judaism, The Lord gives Free Will from whence His Chil'uns pick Good or Bad
• In Christianity, The Lord gives Free Will in terms of accepting or rejecting His Authority
• In Islam, The Lord…SORT OF…gives Free Will as you choose…but He still decides the outcome
• Obviously, there are other Paths, but those are the Big Three, so to speak.

Later Humans "got edumuhcated” and more or less ditched The Lord in favor of themselves. To Say:

• In Libertarianism, it's all on you, Bub…whatever occurred before, can be tossed over if you want
• In Determinism, you really don't get a choice since Cause determines Effect, so no "choosin'”
• In Compatibilism, you KIND OF pick…things before matter, that you may ignore by your leave

(Incidentally…ain't it odd how Intellectual Man usually explains the world almost EXACTLY as the Religious Fellow he disdains so much…only using more syllables to do so?)

A Caveat to Consider

Even if all these little tumbling exercises are swell for mental gymnastics, one thing each of them neglect to address is the following —

Is your choice a product of Free Will if someone is hiding half the facts during your decision?

Personally? I say no. Much like the act of force (physical or pharmacological) in seduction, if the subject is denied access to their faculties the determination can scarcely be considered done by Free Will.

In short, I don't like fellows who play foul and I detest them when they have abusive power.

Turning From Love To War

So here we are in aftermath of the Israel-Palestine Situation…and for once we dispense with everything prior this moment. No doubt everyone here, there and everywhere in-between has an opinion.

Comme ci, comme ca…(By way of a diffident French expression to allure your own Lolly.)

What is most disturbing from the American viewpoint is Trump is sending 200 U.S. Military to walk point as Peacekeepers near Gaza which, to just about unanimity in The Homeland, seems a poor ground plan.

Shall we review the string of successes by American Peacekeepers this blissfully tranquil past century?

Oh…Let's do…

1. Colombia (1903) — Quick! Where is the Panama Hat made? Ahhh…got you! In Ecuador! "Er, how's that again, Somerset!?!”…Way back in the early 1900s Uncle Sam wanted hisself a Canal. Panama was the ideal location…only Panama was under the rule of Colombia…and when the Congress of Colombia denied the plan, the U. S. had our Navy visit to "Peacekeep” so when Panama ruptured with Colombia, the Colombians would not be able to suppress that revolution. Panama got "Independence”, America got their Canal, and Ecuador got robbed of everlasting glory when President Roosevelt was photographed visiting aforementioned Canal in their hat.
2. Honduras (1903-1925) — We done Peacekept in Honduras neigh on 25 years, fellah! That little temporary visit began with the Bonilla Rebellion and soon morphed into the Banana Wars, a series of conflicts which involved U. S. Fruit Companies fighting things out for access and rights. Naturally, we supported the insurgents because upstarts with nothing will always give you a bigger cut of the action when they get into office. Also, we like to fight…so did it a few decades.
3. Haiti (1915-1934) — Here is my personal favorite because there is so very much of value in Haiti, most of all being Haitians. If there is one thing you hear nearly universally as you travel it is, "Damn! This place needs more Haitians!” Everyone the world over just adores those rascals. So during a period of inter-tribal warfare, unusual for Haitians who had only been murdering each other since 1791, Uncle Sam arrived in 1915 and made his presence known. This, shockingly, did not quell the homicidal tendencies of the Haitians and we left it as we found it.
4. Korea (1950-1953) — Did you know the Korean War began with Peacekeepin'? Or, more crucially, that the Korean War is still going on as we speak? Armistice, which is a military ceasefire, was signed but that's about it…so any day now we could be right back Keeping more Peace there. Alright…in fairness…TECHNICALLY our United Nations had "military observers” in Korea prior to hostilities, and not specifically Peacekeepers…kind of how no one is "fired” today and everyone is "furloughed” but just have to clear out their desks and never return to the office…Geez!
5. Dominican Republic (1965) — It may have abutted the "Summer Of Love” but that didn't mean there was no Peace to Keep for the U. S. Grunts! Off we sailed to prevent a Civil War because an internal dispute on an island in the middle of the Caribbean is important to Midwest farmers. Or something. Who knows? Anyhoo, we sent down over 20,000 boys to make Dominican business American business to help out Big Business. Also, something, something, something, Humanitarianism! (You must always remember to include the exclamation mark. It's vital!!!) Best part? We named it the "Inter-American PEACE Force”…you really have to admire us Yanks…
6. Lebanon (1982-1984) — Now we're getting to some of the "Greatest Hits” of the Peacekeeping "Golden Years”. Oh, wait, I meant to put Tears…because this nonsense was a genuine tragedy. It was a force, sent by us, because the Israelis invaded Lebanon (as is being done NOW). Only as typically happens in the Middle East, if you are on scene you will be drawn in to their interminably petty roughhousing. The result? In 1983 were 241 decent American servicemen then slaughtered in a bombing of their barracks, every one of whom should have been here at home rather than cast overseas to placate a gang of crooked politicians. Usually overlooked? The mission continued another year…with 10 more Americans killed.
7. Somalia (1992-1994) — In achievement of the ultimate Liberal aspiration of being remembered as the "Good Kind” of White Man, President Bill Clinton sent 25,000 — FOR SERIOUSLY, TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND — American servicemen to Somalia to get attacked. It was called Operation Restore Hope, which implies Somalia ever had "Hope” to begin with any time since The Dawn Of Humanity. No worries, Clinton was convinced the U. S. Army could overturn two MILLENNIA of evolutionary History…and Willy almost succeeded…Right up into the moment the Somalis, ever grateful in their gratitude, did a "Black Hawk Down”, murdered 18 American soldiers who CAME TO HELP THEM, and followed it by dragging those corpses down filthy alleyways…Because only thing better than Haitians are Somalis, cowboy!
8. Haiti (all the 1990s) — Yep. Again. Because if there is one way to drag a backward and savage people into Modernity it is…well, sadly, there is no particularly good way of doing such a thing.

Probably Billy really wanted to show how much he "didn't see race” (also to make a "free trade zone” for Slave Labor) so thereupon shipped off ANOTHER 25,000 military personnel, this time along with two aircraft carriers…to no avail…in 2025 Haitians still be hackin' one another.

Assorted Others in the "Peacekeeping” mantra since the 1990s have been missions to: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, the Sinai…and now back to Palestine with 200 men.

Some Free Will For Soldiers — Reading Material For When You Deploy

Understand that NONE of this impugns the men and women schlepped to theater.

They largely have little input toward where they are sent with none concerning the why of sending.

EXCEPT, as declared, This Author believes in the concept of Free Will…and Soldiers deserve to know exactly what they are getting into before they are moseyed off to fight in the name of our Land.

The first book you boys and girls ought to read is "War Is A Racket” by Smedley Butler. No, I'm not trolling you with that moniker, it was his real name, and he was a true hero of a Man. In fact, Butler was a Marine who won the Medal of Honor not once, but TWO TIMES, for separate actions of Heroism.

That's where you begin.

The second book you want to read is "The Burn Pits” by Joseph Hickman. He details the aftermath of the poisoning of our men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq from the titular "burn pits” into which all manner of military waste — oil, machine parts, refuse, toxic chemicals, spent munitions — were lit.

You don't need to be an environmentalist on the level of Greta Thunberg to know breathing in thick rolls of dangerous smoke for hours on end in continuous weeks will have a severely negative effect on health.

What is important to understand is — this was no accident. Neither was the lethality particularly intentional…management, as in The Brass, just didn't care. They chose not to take charge of their Men.

Also, casualties were not the proverbial "expendables”. Beau Biden, son of then-Vice President Joe Biden was stationed near those vile dumps. If the son of the VICE PRESIDENT could be put in such proximity where do you think Generals will stick you kiddies LACKING ACCESS to power?

I have the utmost — and I mean it — respect for anyone fighting for this country…but YOU need to know the people who are sending you out to do that fighting very often do not respect soldiers in the least.

Your Life Is A Series Of Decisions

Everything is the proximate result of what came prior.

You have Free Will…and hopefully after this piece also have enough details to make an informed judgment.

As mentioned in the beginning…The choice was always yours.

Guy Somerset writes from somewhere in America