ICYMI: How American Soldiers Became Lawyers With Guns
Angry Planet1 Sep 2017

ICYMI: How American Soldiers Became Lawyers With Guns

More than 11,000 U.S. soldiers are fighting in Afghanistan right now. U.S. President Donald Trump plans to send 4,000 more. Military advisers are overseeing the war against the Islamic State and American military equipment and expertise helped retake Mosul. Drones launch from bases in Africa and the Middle East to conduct targeted killings against high value targets from Djibouti to Pakistan. U.S. Special Operations Forces operate across the globe in various capacities. Most of these missions are classified.


So America’s at war, right? Legally, no.


War, as we normally define it, no longer makes sense. There’s no draft — and only one percent of the U.S. population is in the military. The government isn’t levying special taxes or issuing bonds to pay for the fighting. And all this “war” — drone strikes, Special Forces deployments, air strikes and aircraft carrier deployments — is happening with little public scrutiny.


This week on War College, we sit down with Rosa Brooks to figure out how America barreled headlong into a permanent war without defining the terms or thinking about the consequences. Brooks is a former U.S. State Department official and the author of the book How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales From the Pentagon.


Brooks argues that U.S. citizens and lawmakers should shake off fears of appearing unpatriotic to challenge the government’s unchecked, unilateral and covert military activities abroad. If that doesn’t happen soon, she says, the United States may have to pay for the dangerous example it’s setting for Russia and China.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(494)

When the 'War on Drugs' got literal, and how it could end

When the 'War on Drugs' got literal, and how it could end

Drug cartel weaponry has gotten deadlier. In 2015, a Mexican army helicopter was shot down in the state of Jalisco. The local cartel used a rocket-propelled grenade to do it. And for years, drug gangs...

28 Sep 201627min

An Islamic Reformation may be beside the point

An Islamic Reformation may be beside the point

The separation of church and state is one of the fundamental tenets of the modern Western world, but that doesn't make it inevitable for all cultures. But does that mean that the Islamic world and the...

21 Sep 201639min

Why nuclear war looks inevitable

Why nuclear war looks inevitable

Several developments have the potential to move the hands of the nuclear doom clock closer to midnight. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy ...

13 Sep 201630min

One reason the U.S. isn't winning the 'War on Terror'

One reason the U.S. isn't winning the 'War on Terror'

In the 15 years since America first went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon has reduced the number of troops on the ground and increased the number of unmanned robots picking off high value ...

8 Sep 201639min

How the Pentagon became the world's weapon system superstore

How the Pentagon became the world's weapon system superstore

The United States is the world's largest arms merchant. It's not even close. So, who decides what gets sold, and to whom? And how closely does anyone follow the rules? This week on War College we look...

31 Aug 201636min

The age of the aircraft carrier may be over

The age of the aircraft carrier may be over

The United States has more aircraft carriers than any other country. Depending on what you call an aircraft carrier, it's 10 times as many. So why don't more countries have more carriers? Maybe they a...

22 Aug 201636min

How the U.S. got caught between two nuclear neighbors

How the U.S. got caught between two nuclear neighbors

It's a situation where the United States has interesting choices to make. India and Pakistan are often at each other's throats. Both want U.S. support. Both are allies of necessity for the United Stat...

11 Aug 201633min

The Kremlin may be more involved in U.S. politics than you realize

The Kremlin may be more involved in U.S. politics than you realize

Hackers released a treasure trove of unpleasant internecine emails on the eve of the Democratic National Convention. The Democratic Party chairwoman was out of a job and tensions between Hillary Clint...

30 Juli 201645min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

aftonbladet-krim
motiv
p3-krim
rss-krimstad
fordomspodden
blenda-2
flashback-forever
rss-viva-fotboll
aftonbladet-daily
rss-sanning-konsekvens
svenska-fall
rss-vad-fan-hande
rss-krimreportrarna
olyckan-inifran
grans
rss-aftonbladet-krim
svd-dokumentara-berattelser-2
dagens-eko
rss-frandfors-horna
rss-expressen-dok