About 5 years ago I wondered when we all became so afraid of everything - and while I cant believe the premise that its a master plan by unknown forces to sell more weapons of war - it is pervasive and does seem to be media driven.
We all know by now we can't "win" a war in Afghanistan. President Washington spelled out why in his Farewell Address (and proved it prior to that as a General) and warned us against partaking in this kind of stupidity.
Being there in Afghanistan for 16 years now is pretty rock solid proof that for us citizens paying for weapons of war was, and is now, a longterm plan that's already been hugely successful for those who sell them.
The excuse "We must fight the terrorists over there" sounds great on TV but makes no sense to anyone that has any. Especially when the nation your warring on is landlocked half way around the planet, has no air force or navy, and is one of the poorest nations in the world.
But people all around me are scared of them and I live way out in the boonies in the middle of the strongest nation on earth. Don't matter, they're still scared.
So, yeah, I have to say it's planned and it's working good.
> The political-science professors, perfectly sane men, look at me with wonder when I talk about the ruling class in America. They say, “You are one of those conspiracy theorists. You think there’s a headquarters and they get together at the Bohemian Grove and run the United States.” Well, they do get together at the Bohemian Grove and do a lot of picking of Secretaries of State, anyway. But they don’t have to conspire. They all think alike. It goes back to the way we’re raised, the schools we went to–after all, I’m a reluctant member of this group. You don’t have to give orders to the editor of The New York Times. He is in place because he will respond to a crisis the way you want him to, as will the President, as will the head of the Chase Manhattan Bank. http://davidsheff.com/article/gore-vidal/
The interview it comes from, in Playboy, is pretty great. They're talking about how that now that the commie threat is spent, they'll need a new threat to keep people scared (they, as in the, the conspiratorial they). He jokes about Nicaraguan imperialism. We now know what we got instead.
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We got around to the subject of war again and I said that, contrary to his attitude, I did not think that the common people are very thankful for leaders who bring them war and destruction.
“Why, of course, the people don’t want war,” Goering shrugged. “Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.”
“There is one difference,” I pointed out. “In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.”
“Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”
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Gilbert, G. M. The Psychology of Dictatorship: Based on an Examination of the Leaders of Nazi Germany. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1979. Print.