The notion that America can save itself by giving up its role in governing the world was based on the premise that dictators and industry would not then fill that void. Well, we are about 20 years into an experiment in this philosophy and things are going terribly.

In 2016, Boston University political scientist Neta Crawford estimated that spending on Homeland Security and on war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria will reach $7.9 trillion by 2053. That was assuming investments would be restricted to veterans care from 2016 forward, so we can already conclude that number has already risen substantially and will continue to do so.

The American people have seen no benefit, apart from a psychological one, since these wars began in 2001. And that psychological benefit was experienced only as long as the individual remained optimistic about the course of the war. Most veterans did not experience this benefit. In fact, with 17 American veterans a day dying by suicide, we can conclude that they experienced a net negative psychological impact.

Two groups have benefited from this war consistently since they began. They are the political and industrial complexes that continue to weaken government institutions opposed to the free reign of dictators, like Vladimir Putin, and corporations, like ExxonMobil, who undermine our government when sanctions stop them from working with those dictators.

We have a right to sovereignty. If we do not demand it, dictators and corporations will continue to make us less safe.

Jamie Beaulieu

Farmington

Copy the Story Link