November 11, 2008

Honor Smedley Butler on Veteran's Day

Major General Smedley Darlington Butler, USMC,
  • 1881 - 1940
  • Two-time recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor
"I spent 33 years and 4 months in active service as a member of our 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 for capitalism. I suspected I was part of a racket all the time. Now I am sure of it." -- Smedley. D. Butler

How to Stop Wars of Empire:

"A few profit – and the many pay. But there is a way to stop it. You can't end it by disarmament conferences. You can't eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can't wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war." -- Smedley. D. Butler

It is for this reason that the US Congress must investigate, without immunity, war profiteering during the Bush years. The findings must be prosecuted. The ill-begotten profits, tax-payer dollars, must be clawed back and returned to the US Treasury. I urge veterans to join the broad-based movement to make this happen.

Famous Butler Essay: War is a Racket

Post Script: Smedley Butler also exposed a group of wealthy industrialists who plotted a military coup to overthrow the government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934 [1].

Sources:

History Today,
An American coup d'etat? (plot against Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1934) November 1, 1995, vol.45, Issue 11, Clayton Cramer.

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2 comments:

libhom said...

Your call for war profiteering investigations is apt. I support it whole heartedly.

You are living up to your promise of value added analysis.

GDAEman said...

Hmmmmm... value added. I suppose I should add a link by which people can ACT on the investigation of war profiteers.

Here's One!

Add the following link to your browser's web links in the tool bar:

Fair and Accuracy in Media (FAIR).

They have ALL the contacts to the FOXs of the world. Let them hear our voices on war profiteering, Damn it!!

How's? Any "value" added?