US Marine General admits: "War is a racket"
InfoGuy123
"I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil
interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for
the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in" -General Smedley
D. Butler was the most decorated soldier in American uniform;
Commander of the Marine Corps school, 1933.
= = = =
SMEDLEY BUTLER ON INTERVENTIONISM
Excerpt from a speech delivered in 1933, by Major General Smedley
Butler, USMC.
"WAR IS JUST A RACKET. A racket is best described, I believe, as
something that is not what it seems to the majority of
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
masses.
I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing
else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The
trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent
over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100
percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow
the flag.
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 odd 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.
I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil
interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for
the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in
the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the
benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I
helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of
Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name
before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American
sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that
Standard Oil went its way unmolested.
During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say,
a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given
Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his
racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.
Source: http://www.fas.org/man/smedley.htm
[Federation of American Scientists]
************************************************************
Also eye-opening:
General Smedley D. Butler was the most decorated soldier in American
uniform; Commander of the Marine Corps school; and passed over for
Marine Corps commandant only because of his increasingly
anti-imperialist views.
He was very popular with rank-and-file soldiers and veterans. He
strongly defended the "Bonus Marchers", attacked by U.S. troops under
General Douglas MacArthur and Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower in
Washington DC in 1932.
In an incident whose history is suppressed today, Gen. Butler was
approached by representatives of the Morgan Bank who wished him to
lead a fascist military coup d'itat against the Roosevelt government
in 1932. He refused and went to the press. A Congressional
investigation was eventually suppressed. See Jules Archer, The Plot to
Seize the White House for a recent, documented version of this
cover-up, well-publicized at the time but virtually "blacked out"
today!
From: http://www.chss.montclair.edu/english/furr/butler1.html
= = = =
More information: http://EconomicDemocracy.org/wtc/
= = = =
sorry we canot read/reply to most usenet posts but welcome email
Subject: FORMER MARINE GENERAL: "WAR IS A RACKET"
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raymond o'hara
"InfoGuy123" <infog...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030308222416...@mb-mm.aol.com...
yeah smedley was a tough in-yer-face guy , i read his memoirs years ago in
college .
but what kinda name is smedley?
InfoGuy123
>yeah smedley was a tough in-yer-face guy , i read his memoirs years ago in
college . but what kinda name is smedley?<
Er, the kind of name that only tough hombres such as himself could pul-off
bearing? ;-)
BTW, what kind of name is ohara? Japanese?
Michael Kennedy
>
> "I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil
> interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for
> the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in" -General Smedley
> D. Butler was the most decorated soldier in American uniform;
> Commander of the Marine Corps school, 1933.
>
> = = = =
>
> SMEDLEY BUTLER ON INTERVENTIONISM
>
> Excerpt from a speech delivered in 1933, by Major General Smedley
> Butler, USMC.
>
> "WAR IS JUST A RACKET. A racket is best described, I believe, as
> something that is not what it seems to the majority of
> 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
> masses.
This was a common sentiment in the aftermath of World War I. Remember "Daddy
Warbucks", Little Orphan Annie's benefactor ? Probably not. The same
sentiment gave us the Washington Naval Treaty which allowed Japan to build
its navy at maximum speed while we built "treaty cruisers" that went down at
Tassafaronga and other places rather quickly.
The antiwar sentiment of the 20s and 30s also gave us World War II. Where
were all the nursing mothers in pink that paraded around this weekend when
they might have done some good in Bosnia a few years ago ?
Mike Kennedy
William Hamblen
wrote:
>but what kinda name is smedley?
No a question you would have asked to his face.
Ogden Johnson III
> "raymond o'hara" <re...@attbi.com> wrote:
>>but what kinda name is smedley?
>No a question you would have asked to his face.
He wasn't called "Old Gimlet Eye" for nothing. Kill radius to 50 ft,
casualty radius to 250 ft, and could shiver timbers out to 1000 ft.
OJ III
Carriersg1
Rudy Friederich
RTO Trainer
carri...@aol.com (Carriersg1) exclaimed:
>GEN Smedley Bulter is a Medal of Honor recipient.
>
>Rudy Friederich
Correction:
He was a double MoH recipient.
Might have been three but they didn't allow MoH for officers during
his China service.
BUTLER, SMEDLEY DARLINGTON (First Award)
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 30 July 1881,
West Chester, Pa. Appointed from: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 177, 4
December 1915. Other Navy awards: Second Medal of Honor, Distinguished
Service Medal. Citation: For distinguished conduct in battle,
engagement of Vera Cruz, 22 April 1914. Maj. Butler was eminent and
conspicuous in command of his battalion. He exhibited courage and
skill in leading his men through the action of the 22d and in the
final occupation of the city.
BUTLER, SMEDLEY DARLINGTON (Second Award)
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 30 July 1881,
West Chester, Pa. Appointed from: Pennsylvania. Other Navy awards:
Second Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Medal. Citation: As
Commanding Officer of detachments from the 5th, 13th, 23d Companies
and the marine and sailor detachment from the U.S.S. Connecticut, Maj.
Butler led the attack on Fort Riviere, Haiti, 17 November 1915.
Following a concentrated drive, several different detachments of
marines gradually closed in on the old French bastion fort in an
effort to cut off all avenues of retreat for the Caco bandits.
Reaching the fort on the southern side where there was a small opening
in the wall, Maj. Butler gave the signal to attack and marines from
the 15th Company poured through the breach, engaged the Cacos in
hand-to-hand combat, took the bastion and crushed the Caco resistance.
Throughout this perilous action, Maj. Butler was conspicuous for his
bravery and forceful leadership.
--
"In 1991 the Iraqis agreed to 'beat their swords into ploughshares.' The inspectors are
there, not to look for swords, but to find the ploughshares." --Sharon, a caller to
to the Gary McNamara Show, Dallas radio WBAP, 27 Jan 2003
SPC Robert White 31U, OKARNG HHC 45th eSB Thunderbirds!
Joe Osman
He was a damn revenuer in Philadelphia, but he also single
handedly prevented the American Legion and big business from
taking over the government.
Joe
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Michael Kennedy
"Carriersg1" <carri...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030310151316...@mb-fl.aol.com...
> GEN Smedley Bulter is a Medal of Honor recipient.
That doesn't mean his ideas on economics or peace treaties are any better
than anyone else who thought the world was safe for democracy in 1933. Ollie
North was a great Marine junior officer in Vietnam but I wouldn't want him
running my Iran policy shop. :)
Mike Kennedy
>
> Rudy Friederich
Matthew G. Saroff
Actually, best evidence is that Ollie was a bit of a
whacko there too.
Butler actually went public with a coup attempt where
they wanted to make him dictator (it was against FDR).
So, yes, I give his philosophy some credence.
BTW, it wasn't A Medal of Honor, it was TWO, and it would
have been three, except that the first time around, it wasn't
given to officers (all the enlisted men in his command got them).
--
--Matthew Saroff
Rules to live by:
1) To thine own self be true
2) Don't let your mouth write no checks that your butt can't cash
3) Interference in the time stream is forbidden, do not meddle in causality
Check http://www.pobox.com/~msaroff, including The Bad Hair Web Page
RTO Trainer
infog...@aol.com (InfoGuy123) exclaimed:
>The following is forwarded to this newsgroup:
>
>"I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil
>interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for
>the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in" -General Smedley
>D. Butler was the most decorated soldier in American uniform;
>Commander of the Marine Corps school, 1933.
>
>= = = =
<snip>
Butler enforced policy. He did not make policy. Most often he never
knew why policy had been made.
Butler had become, after his retirement, an opponent of any military
buildup. He thought that the US military should be constitutionally
restricted to homeland defense only and that that should *not* include
Alaska and Hawaii.
On August 31, 1939 Butler said, "Not a single drop of American blood
should ever again be spilled on foreign soil." The next day's events
did not change his mind nor any event that followed up to his death in
June 1940.