Why Does It Always Have To Be The Navy ???

USS Maine (ACR-1)

USS Arizona (BB-39)

USS Turner Joy (DD-951)

USS Donald Cook (DDG-75)

What do these naval vessels have in common? The first three all played a role in getting the US into a major war, and the fourth appears to be on the verge of doing the same.

In a former life I was an 1120 Unrestricted Line Officer qualified as a Submarine Warfare Officer. I would have carried out whatever mission I was assigned, and on several occasions did just that.

But today the only thing I'm happy about from those years of service is that I didn't kill anyone or cause anyone to get killed.

I have great respect for my fellow naval officers, but I really wish we didn't have to be the initiators of wars that serve no one's interests other than those of the warmongers and rich people who benefit from all the suffering and killing.

We would be wise to ponder the words of MG Smedley Butler:

"War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives."

War is as much a racket as is drug trafficking, whose profits also are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. There is only one way in which it could be considered to be better - if it protects our country and saves American lives.

But there is absolutely no way the coming war in Syria protects anyone in the US. In fact, it puts us all in jeopardy in ways which CANNOT ever be justified.

Don't do it, President Trump. For your benefit and ours, please don't do it. You've got my permission to tell the Israelis to go to hell. And PLEASE stop listening to that moron John Bolton.