Friday, April 29, 2005
New Martial Plan
It used to be when I was growing up, that when someone mentioned the Marshall Plan they were referring to the US strategy of helping rebuild the devastated economies of Germany and Japan after World War II as a means of securing a more prosperous and peaceful future for all. At least that's the way it was described by politicians, news reporters, teachers and historians.
And, to a considerable degree (as I understand it)--that's pretty much what took place.
Two generations later, the Marshall plan we're now coping with is not a budgetary item for security and cooperation, but rather a strategy of straight forward neo-imperial hubris peddled out of the Pentagon by Andrew Marshall--the brains behind Rumsfeld's policy of "Shoot first and ask questions later."
Andrew Marshall's plan--described in Asia Times Online as a variation on the concept of use it or lose it--actually appeared under Clinton's presidency, when Madeleine Albright (confronted by the barbarous bombing of Yugoslavia) complained, "What's the point of having all these weapons if we're not going to use them?" Rumsfeld's "cakewalk war" in Iraq is just the latest example of this policy in action.
Now, as the US treasury hemorrhages gazillions into the Swiss bank accounts of US politicians, lobbyists, and arms dealers, the question to ask is, "Who is going to rebuild our economy after Halliburton, Lockheed, and General Electric are through waging their bogus war?"
And, to a considerable degree (as I understand it)--that's pretty much what took place.
Two generations later, the Marshall plan we're now coping with is not a budgetary item for security and cooperation, but rather a strategy of straight forward neo-imperial hubris peddled out of the Pentagon by Andrew Marshall--the brains behind Rumsfeld's policy of "Shoot first and ask questions later."
Andrew Marshall's plan--described in Asia Times Online as a variation on the concept of use it or lose it--actually appeared under Clinton's presidency, when Madeleine Albright (confronted by the barbarous bombing of Yugoslavia) complained, "What's the point of having all these weapons if we're not going to use them?" Rumsfeld's "cakewalk war" in Iraq is just the latest example of this policy in action.
Now, as the US treasury hemorrhages gazillions into the Swiss bank accounts of US politicians, lobbyists, and arms dealers, the question to ask is, "Who is going to rebuild our economy after Halliburton, Lockheed, and General Electric are through waging their bogus war?"
