Militarism, War, and Dictatorship

(The Intelligence Daily) -- There is a clear trajectory of the American ruling class away from normal, democratic rule. Increasingly, over the last fifteen years, there has been a tendency to move towards naked authoritarianism. I have spoken on Black Sun Gazette repeatedly on the subject of nascent American fascism. While I don’t wish to downplay the significance of obviously fascist figures such as Glenn Beck receiving a hearing in the mainstream media, perhaps this is not the form that dictatorship in the United States will take when democratic norms finally collapse. Indeed, America’s history is arguably closer to and more intimately intertwined with that of Latin America. Perhaps the model for the catastrophic end of American democracy is not the lumpen thugs of Europe, but the Latin American military strong man, and his throngs of tanks “disappearing” all potential opposition. Dictatorial rhetoric, increased saber-rattling abroad, and a clear short-term historical trajectory away from electoral normality add up to a chilling picture for the near future.

Of particular interest is the constant, steady march of America- no matter which party occupies the executive branch or has a majority in Congress- towards an increasing number of wars abroad. While Iraq has been out of the news, the President early on spit in the face of his anti-war base by reappointing Bush-era Robert Gates to the position of Secretary of Defense. The President (the most relevant party, as he ultimately commands the entire American military) has intensified attacks on Afghanistan, and expanded the war into Pakistan in the most disgusting way possible. Indeed, the military tactics being used by Obama’s war machine and its toadies in the Pakistani officer caste increasingly resemble that of a military dictatorship over its own people. If recent history tells us anything, it tells us that which is used against enemies of the regime abroad is quickly brought home to be used against enemies of the regime domestically.

In the United States, attacks on democratic liberties almost necessarily go hand in hand with imperialist aggression. See also: The Espionage Act of 1917, the Smith Act of 1940, McCarthyism,and the Patriot Act. It should raise concern then, not just among radicals, revolutionaries, and socialists, but anyone concerned with democratic liberties, that the military-industrial complex has not let up on Iran, despite the change of drapes. The current drive against Iran started with the hysteria over the allegedly stolen election in Iran. Of course, nothing pushes the buttons of American liberals like claims of electoral irregularities- except when they happen domestically. In particular, the “left” (such as it is) in America whinged like children with mock moral outrage. The corporate media continues to do its part in spreading total bullshit about Iran in the service of the American ruling class’ ambitions there.

As usual, the nakedly pro-corporate press is a little more honest with us. They call Obama out for what he is- Bush III (ok, ok, Bush 2.0, but they forgot about Poppy). The man certainly uses highly aggressive language when talking about Iran’s totally legal nuclear energy program. Those who live in countries with media sources not controlled by American corporations know that the U.S. claims about Iran are (again) total bullshit- to speak nothing of the hypocrisy of the only country to actually use nuclear weapons (and against civilian populations at that) lecturing a small, impoverished country on what weapons it can and can’t have to defend itself. There is also the rising threat of trade war between the United States and China.

But most troubling? The increasing conflicts between Obama and the military. I’m not even sure that they can be called conflicts. It’s more like an international version of what happened to Clinton. To summarize: Clinton wasn’t quite kicking the ass of poor and working class people hard enough, so the ultra-right sought to cripple his Presidency. But this isn’t 1996 and Obama isn’t Clinton. The military brass seems increasingly brazen in their critiques of the President. In particular, Defense Secretary Gates recently had to remind top military brass that they are even subordinate to civilian authority at all.

Upon assuming the Presidency, Obama had three recently retired Four Star Generals in his cabinet. This is unprecedented, and highly unusual for a Democrat who ran, at least initially, on a heaping dollop of cynical criticism of the Bush Administration’s policies in Iraq. It’s an attempt to placate the far right and the military establishment. But it is also highly dangerous, as it puts the military-industrial complex very deeply in the current establishment. The specter of military dictatorship in the United States has been raised quite sharply. For those who say “it can’t happen here” I say, show me the data. Do not confuse the unprecedented with the unlikely or the impossible. Now more than ever, it is important to remain vigilant. The imperial presidency of Bush is little more than the other side of the coin of an impotent presidency, entirely beholden to the military establishment.

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