Military

It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.

         Niccolo Machiavelli

The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.

        Adolph Hitler

Primitive man had to use his strength to overcome hunger and other basic needs, and in order to survive. He fought over small rations he could find, until he realized that hunting in a group and as a team, they could achieve better results. Cooperation meant sharing the spoil equally. However, there were those who were not able to join the hunt and needed a share, and that was the beginning of altruism. As man evolved, so did his brain. To facilitate hunting they made tools. This, coupled with agriculture (planting seed and growing and harvesting crops) put human being one-step above animals. In contrast with what we have been told repeatedly by our leaders and media, competition, greed, selfishness, and jealousy were not part of early men’s characters, and these traits were not (and are not) elements of human nature. However, there were always those individuals who had these qualities, but they have been of minorities. When such people were in command, they would instigate wars against other tribes. After many wars, some discovered that they could enslave prisoners of war (instead of killing them) and exploit slaves’ labor for their own benefits. Hence, slavery became another reason for wars, resulting subjugation of captured warriors and prisoners of war. As societies developed into civilizations, wars became a tool for ambitious leaders in order to expand their empire and benefit toil of others. In the advent of a big empire such as Iran, Greece, or Rome, the necessity of having a regular army was envisaged. In order to recruit people into such armies, nationalism (regarding the government or the king, not necessarily common people) was encouraged. Although the military was characterized to exist for defense of the mother nation, it has always been utilized for attacking weaker nations when opportunity arose. Ordinary people were still against wars, but they had no choice when the dictator forced them to join his army. Afterwards, in addition to nationalism, governments found religion, partition (race, religion, creed), and propaganda as suitable tools to persuade people into acquiescence. When there was no enemy, it became necessary to create one.

 In 1498, Niccolò Machiavelli began his career as an active politician in the independent city-state of Florence, engaging in diplomatic missions through France and Germany as well as Italy. After more than a decade of public service, he was driven from his post when the republic collapsed. Machiavelli originally wrote Principe (The Prince) (1513) in hopes of securing the favor of the ruling Medici family, and he deliberately made its claims provocative. The Prince is an intensely practical guide to the exercise of raw political power over a Renaissance principality. “The end result justifies the means” is what Machiavelli prescribed. The best time to find a soldier is when the unemployment is high. The best soldier is a devotee, or one who can dedicate himself or herself to a cause and who is willing to die for that cause, i.e. religion. The best environment to instigate a war is an environment of fear and conviction, i.e. one is in danger of an assault by an invented invader. The enemy could also be a real person or phenomenon, a dictator who has laid out the cause for war, or communism, nuclear power, terrorism, and holocaust. Of course, it is useful to pass anti-immigrant legislatures and promote racism, sexism, and homophobia!

The main purpose of a military is not for defense but for offence. Depending on the societal culture and government’s policy, the alibi differs in each aggression. In the old time, the emperor did not need to invent any reasoning. He would send an emissary to a smaller nation demanding taxes. The smaller nation would typically not comply, and that would be the grounds for a military attack. The official reason for a war can be religion (crusade), ideology (Nazism), defending a weak nation against the powerful (US attacks on Cuba and Philippines against Spain), revenge (Bush on Afghanistan), or simply stopping a government from achieving certain weapon (WMD in Iraq, however baseless). In the case of war on Afghanistan, the alibi of 9-11 was created (or manipulated) by the Bush government, as Vietnam and Korean wars were started by manufacturing such alibis as well. Although the majority of the wars aim on expansion, some have started in order to distract the population from the tyranny and oppression of same government. In recent years, capitalist wars have been waged on smaller nations in order to exploit raw materials and cheap labor, in addition to expanding markets for consumable goods. All the 21^st century wars that have started by the US government and its European allies and Middle Eastern puppets (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Emirates, and Israel) are for such purposes.

The epic of Gilgamesh or Iliad and Odyssey glorify heroism, which equates nationalism and honor. Almost all the ancient wars were fought for expanding a territory, or to move to a more fertile land. Reading through the pages of history books, we learn that the role of nationalism in encouraging people to participate in the worst human (or inhuman) undertaking, killing one another, was realized. The longest military action in history was the war of crusades, a showdown between the East and the West over religious beliefs. However, with the advance of technology, more sophisticated weaponry were made that resulted the last world war to achieve the most number of fatalities, not only through direct combat but also with genocide and with the use of atomic bombs. The purpose of creating a military is to wait for an excellent opportunity for expansion. It has also played a role in deterring aggressors. However in these days and age when every nation knows the exact arsenal of other nations, and considering that the US has been acting as the police of the world for many years, this reason is losing face. Military actions were diminished in frequency during the Cold War, to protect corrupt officials and leaders of friendly governments, and to topple any nationalist, socialist, or secularist regime. The policy was altered again to direct attack on other unfriendly or popular governments, after the demise of the Soviet Union. Following table, borrowed from Wikipedia, shows 2010 military budget of 15 nations with the highest budgetary figures: 

—	World Total	1 630
1	United States	698
2	China	119
3	United Kingdom	59.6
4	France	59.3
5	Russia	58.7
6	Japan	54.5
7	Germany	45.2
8	Saudi Arabia	45.2
9	India	41.3
10	Italy	37.0
11	Brazil	33.5
12	South Korea	27.6
13	Australia	24.0
14	Canada	22.8
15	Turkey	17.5

As we can see from the above table, US military budget almost equals the budget of the rest of the world combined. Presently, the largest industry in the US is military. Dwight D. Eisenhower, a military man himself, in his last speech to the nation in January 17, 1961 when warning about the military industrial complex mentioned the followings: “This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.” However, the policy of the government before and after Eisenhower concerning military has not changed. Long before this nation became an independent state, genocide of Indians was an individual undertaking. American independence that started in 1776 culminated the uprising against the British Empire. Civil war divided the new nation into two camps of north and south, which left about 618,000 dead. This was the only time that the military was directly employed against Americans. The first military action against other nations was an attack on Hawaii, followed by occupying Philippine when Spanish invaders were conquered. War in Cuba was another war with Spain that resulted in domination of Cuba. The wealth gathered from the two World Wars made America prosperous and the supreme power of the world. With the advent of the Eastern bloc, coupled with losing two wars in Vietnam and Korea, direct military actions turned into covert operations. Through such policy, US began toppling South American and Asian governments through Coups, and replaced them with puppet governments. After the collapse of the Soviet Empire, military actions were renewed by attacking Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. Such military adventurism is continuing to-date.