Posts in "US military"

By Matt Cockerill at 8:38AM

May 3, 2010

Cockerill Interviews David Henderson

David Henderson, economics professor at the Naval Postgraduate School of Monterey California, research scholar the Hoover Institute, and columnist for antiwar.com and LewRockwell.com, was kind enough to do an interview with me recently.

David discussed the liberty-movement leaders young people ought to emulate, the problems he sees with the Austrian Theory of the business cycle, and the personal responsibility of the peacenik and soldier in fighting against, and not fighting in, an unjust war. I believe this is a very important interview for young people, in terms of broadening their mind and seriously challenging the status quo. As such, I didn't cut much of the interview and I ask you, the reader, to find a time to listen to it in full.

If you absolutely can't listen to the whole interview, then fast-forward to about 2:21 minutes into Part 4. Here, I ask David about the issues of peace and personal responsibility, and he gives what I consider to be a very thorough and important response.

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

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By Matt Cockerill at 8:43PM

Apr 22, 2010

How Nation-States Train their Soldiers to Kill People

Many thanks to Dan Hodge for emailing me this excellent, albeit old, documentary on the dehumanization of "basic training." Basic training is the process by which "our" rotten Uncle Sam prepares teenage boys to kill strangers without hesitation or compunction. He often succeds at the former, but always fails at the latter, as the clearly haunted USMC Drill Instructors reveal through their comments in the film.

The documentary is longish for YouTube standards, but I promise that those with authentic pro-peace sympathies will be pulled in if they give the first 2 or 3 minutes a chance. It is narrated by a Vietnam-era Veteran of the US Navy:

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

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By Matt Cockerill at 7:02AM

Apr 6, 2010

Brian Beyer: Peacemonger and Libertarian to the Hilt

Good on you for posting the "politically incorrect" video from the heroic Wikileaks website, in addition to your other commentary, Brian. Speaking the unadulterated truth -- rather than implicitly kowtowing to the state by attaching wussy disclaimers about how the infallible military is always on the "side of the Angels" to supposedly "antiwar" sentiment -- is the way to change things. Let us distinguish libertarianism from Republicratism, by speaking logically, consistently, and truthfully, while refusing to steer clear of touchy topics.

Glenn Greenwald, who has been shedding light on this supposedly off-limits slaughter for weeks, also wrote a great piece on this important issue:

A week ago, I wrote about the war being waged on WikiLeaks by the Pentagon and other governments and corporations around the world, and noted at the time -- as a result of my interview with editor Julian Assange -- that WikiLeaks had obtained classified videos that were highly incriminating of the Pentagon and was planning on releasing them shortly.

"Blessed be the Warmakers"?

If someone is a devout Christian, or merely a libertarian believer in natural rights and individual responsibility, he can't deny the logic of Laurence Vance's arguments on military service. Vance's belief that enlisting is morally wrong is uncomfortable, but the unadulterated truth rarely is easy to swallow. Still, it is my conviction that pure truth, bereft of disclaimers and sugar-coating, is the only way to change minds. This is especially important when talking to fellow young people considering military service. If members of YAL aren't going to speak the truth, no other group of young people will.

If you know of anyone who is thinking about enlisting, I'd recommend showing he or she this great and highly relevant interview of Vance by Lew Rockwell:

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By Matt Cockerill at 7:57AM

Feb 26, 2010

Think, American Youth

(H/T Angela Keaton)

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By Nick Leavens at 10:55PM

Jan 31, 2010

U.S. to depoly Patriot missiles in Middle East

While at every turn President Obama attempts to distance himself from the policy decisions of the previous administration in Washington, the President sure seems to be following the same playbook in regards to foreign policy. Several days ago during the State of the Union address, President Obama made a very decisive statement about Iran's 'nuclear capability': "...Iran's leaders continue to ignore their obligations, there should be no doubt: They, too, will face growing consequences. That is a promise."

There was certainly no hesitation in this decision, as today, British newspaper the Guardian reports:

The US is dispatching Patriot defensive missiles to four countries – Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait – and keeping two ships in the Gulf capable of shooting down Iranian missiles. Washington is also helping Saudi Arabia develop a force to protect its oil installations.

It seems quite clear that the Nobel Peace Prize winner intends to remove diplomacy with Iran from the table and scrap any new 'hope' and 'change' in strategy with regards to how Tehran is approached. It's also interesting to note that while they have operated oil installations for many years, Saudi Arabia appears to have realized a deficiency in its ability to protect their own interests. You may read the entire article here.

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By Matt Cockerill at 8:31PM

Jan 28, 2010

Pro-state "Peaceniks": The betrayal of the formerly anti-war left

In addition to the paramount cause of peace, the anti-state, counterculture movement of the 1960s placed a high emphasize on liberty. The movement was successful in removing legal sanctions depriving gays, blacks, women, and other historically oppressed groups of their natural rights. Yet the New Left also promoted moral relativism, bizarre "religious" practices, and dehumanizing cultural hedonism.

Today, the establishment left promotes the sexual revolution, plant-worship, and socialism full-throttle while treating peace and liberty as nothing more than slogans. Many liberals seem to think wearing tie-dye, watching "Ellen," and spewing wishy washy clichés is the only prerequisite to ride aboard "the peace train." These folks believe we must support Obama because he is a political correctite who wants health "reform," "equal pay for equal work," and other "progressive" initiatives. The brown infants he kills and maims are really not that relevant since Obama is a well-intentioned guy. Indeed, putting an end to this murder and mayhem is a distant priority for most of them.

Call me a conspiracist, but I don't think this dumbing down is coincidental. At the very least, it "conveniently" serves the interest of the ruling elite. For they can now manipulate the left to support all sort of pro-state, pro-war, endeavors under the veil of the progressive social causes. Code Pink, for example, has been convinced to rethink withdrawing from Afghanistan on the basis of "women's rights."

Does Rising Violence in Pakistan mean more U.S. Involvement?

I posted only half a day ago that the United States appeared to be getting ready to ramp up its potential presence in Pakistan, as Hillary Clinton expressed concern over Pakistani sovereignty. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has affirmed the assertion today while making a visit to the neighboring country of Afghanistan. Will 30,000 additional US troops ordered just days ago to the area be spread out and into Pakistan in the near future?

A bomb exploded near an intelligence office in central Pakistan on Tuesday, authorities said, damaging the building and killing at least 12 people amid a surge of extremist violence that has prompted the U.S. to offer additional aid in the country's battle against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
The attack came as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Washington was ready to work more closely with Pakistan as soon as Islamabad expressed willingness.

"The more they get attacked internally .. the more open they may be" to help from the United States," Gates said during a trip to Afghanistan. "But we are prepared to expand that relationship at any pace they are prepared to accept."

Laurence Vance on Military Doublespeak

Laurence Vance is always excellent on the subject of war, particularly when he writes about its relationship to Christianity. I saw him speak in June, and he did not disappoint. I was particularily impressed by his boldness in discussing the biblical conception of war and countering arguments for a more hawkish perspective presented by the audience -- even those wishing to have their military records validated.

Now, he's composed a pretty long list of doublespeak our government and society use in relation to the military. Here's a small sample:

Troop surge: escalation of a war we are losing.

Flying sorties: bombing civilians and their property.

Stationed overseas: helping to maintain the U.S. global empire of troops and bases.

Enhanced interrogation techniques: torture by the United States.

Extraordinary rendition: U.S. sanctioned torture by other countries.

Fighting terrorism: making terrorists.

Fighting our enemies: making more enemies.

Defending our freedoms: destroying our freedoms.

Read the rest of the list (there's a lot more) here.

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By Matt Cockerill at 6:56AM

Oct 19, 2009

Onward Christian Killers?

While I'm hardly a believing Christian anymore, I nevertheless retain an appreciation for Biblical writings and Christ's general message. Thus, I have been highly appreciative of LRC columnist Laurence Vance's consistent adherence to the teachings of Holy Scripture and his resultant condemnation of the U.S. state's war machine, as well as individual participation therein.

Laurence Vance heroically decries pro-military attitudes as blatantly unchristian and contrary to Christ's message. His latest piece accurately compares blasphemous Christian worship of the military to the biblical account of the Jews worshipping Aaron's Golden Calf.... I recommend you check it out and forward it to all your pro-war Christian friends.

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