9/11: Support our troops by ending these illegal wars

“Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals engendered by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”

– James Madison, "Political Observations" (1795-04-20); also in Letters and Other Writings of James Madison (1865), Vol. IV, p. 491.

Do you respect our troops? If so, demand their return home because they’ve been deployed in illegal Wars of Aggression. Don’t believe me when I say the wars are illegal and we should withdraw (Iraq and Afghanistan can request help from the UN on their own if they’re interested). YOU have to know the two simple rules of starting a war to determine if our troops’ presence is ethical or not. Do you know them? If so, thank you for your responsibility as a citizen. If not, thank you for reading this article to learn! As an educator, allow me to attempt my art of admonishing those who haven’t done this important homework before reviewing the answer (and I thought being a laid-off teacher I wouldn’t use this particular skill as a writer).

If you do not know the two simple laws of when a nation may attack another, you are NOT being a responsible citizen. There are not many laws responsible citizens MUST understand, but committing our troops into harm's way, sending our flag and reputation oversees, spending billions of our collective dollars ($3 to $5 trillion long-term), and causing suffering and death through collateral damage to MILLIONS of civilians demands your informed civic voice.

Moreover, the two laws of war are LESS COMPLEX than the average rule of your favorite sport. For example, they’re way less complex than what construes a legal punt in football. Would you consider someone who says they're a competent baseball fan as rational if the person said, "Yeah, I know what I'm looking at with baseball. Except I don’t understand and can’t explain if a batter is safe or out at first when the ball is hit. That's too detailed for me. Besides, I think our team ought to decide for ourselves when we're safe or out based on our own team's interests."

That would be crazy, yes?

And for those people who don't have the empathy for our troops to understand TWO LITTLE RULES to safeguard their ethical deployment when the troops put their lives on the line, and sacrifice the presence and happiness of their families, there's an ancient Greek word to describe them. The word is so powerful it's remained un-translated for over 2,000 years: idiot. Its use included those who didn't care to concern themselves with society's most important issues. Idiots don’t care enough to know the rules of war, and therefore don’t care enough about our troops to protect them from irresponsible government. As I’ve argued, prudent distrust of government is at the very core of being an American.

And those two easy rules of a legal war: only in self-defense if attacked by a nation (or imminent threat) and/or authorized by the UN Security Council.

These are the rules agreed by all nations through adaptation of the Charter of the United Nations, a Treaty in Force for the US that the US Constitution empowers with the full force of US law and equal to laws enacted by Congress. The reason that nations outlawed war as a foreign policy option is that in the century you and I were born, wars and like-acts by governments killed ~100 million human beings. The specific provisions of the UN Charter:

Article 2 - "... All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations. ..."

Article 39 - "The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security."

Article 51 - "Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security ..."

So that’s it. A batter is safe at first base under two conditions upon a safely batted ball: First: if the batter touches first base before either being tagged with the ball (or ball in glove), or before a defensive player touches the base in possession of the ball. Second: the ball must not be caught on the fly by the defense. Actually, there are a lot of exceptions and provisions to the rule of being called safe or out at first base that support my point that the rules to start a war are far easier to understand.

For war, if a nation doesn’t attack you or is imminently prepared to do so, war is illegal. The UN Security Council can also authorize use of force. Absent one of these two conditions, war is illegal. As I’ve explained in this article, neither one of those conditions was met, and the US government falsified evidence to spin public support and put our beloved troops into Wars of Aggression.

Our troops put their lives and families on the line for you. Now our troops need your help. It’s up to us to demand our psychopathic political “leadership” end these Wars of Aggression. BTW, I don’t use the term “psychopath” as a random ad hominem; I mean exactly what the word means: intentionally destructive acts with a veneer of socially acceptable behavior and charm. Based upon the facts that hundreds of journalists have made clear over the years (my summary is composed in several articles), we need to prosecute the government officials responsible for killing and irreparably harming United States troops as pawns in their global political games.

Because Congressional “leaders” from both parties are in collusion to abuse our troops, I recommend a policy of Truth and Reconciliation as the fastest way to end criminality. This strategy can peel-away those seeking a “Scrooge conversion” to become our powerful allies.

Below is the most beautiful and powerful artistic call to support our troops, an 8-minute video. I highly recommend their website for additionally powerful and moving videos.

As always, share this article with all who say they want to be competent citizens. If you appreciate my work, subscribe by clicking under the article title (it’s free).

How You Ended The War from PuppetGov on Vimeo.