Is War still a Racket ?

Friday March 21, 2003 13:28

by Smedley Butler

... it seems so ....

WAR IS A RACKET 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. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes. In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns.

Read the original:
http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

As relevant today as when it was written.

save preference

Comments (3 of 3)

Smedley says

by smedley butler

Fri Mar 21, 2003 13:33

I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes, and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

It may seem off for me, a military man, to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street, and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

Could the war be right (even if only in hindsight) ?

by Lazlo Jamf

Fri Mar 21, 2003 14:18

When Saddam is deposed will you protest for his reinstatement?
When the Iraqi people thank the Americans for liberation will you dismiss them?
When Iraq assumes its role as a wealthy modern democracy will you condemn its liberation?
Is anybody willing to concede that someday in hindsight you may concede that the war was right?

Re: Could War be Right ...

by Smedley

Fri Mar 21, 2003 15:59

Hey Laslo you dork ...remember the last Gulf War to liberate Kuwait ....

GIVE ME AN UPDATE ON KUWAITI DEMOCRACY AS IT STANDS TODAY ...... ???

Care to answer that one you dupe .... ?

Upcoming Events

New Events

Other Press

User Preferences

Feeds

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Human Rights in Ireland

Lockdown Skeptics

Voltaire Network

Is War still a Racket ?

Comments (3 of 3)