'Why You've Never Heard of the Great Depression of 1920'

By Thomas E. Woods, Jr. ∙ MisesMedia ∙ April 10, 2009

Presented by Thomas E. Woods, Jr., at "The Great Depression: What We Can Learn From It Today," the Mises Circle in Colorado; sponsored by Limited Government Forum of Colorado Springs and hosted by the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Recorded Saturday, 4 April 2009.

'America's Military Empire'

By Jake, the Champion of the Constitution ∙ Nolan Chart ∙ April 9, 2009

Hard facts. 147 countries. 476,039 soldiers abroad. Over 46,000 veteran suicides and 5,000+ combat troops dead during the War of Terror.

One of the sticking points I encounter in conversation is when someone challenges me that America does not have, as I allege, a military empire. However, they never seem to be able to rattle off any facts or statistics to the contrary. This article is my attempt to document facts that he is unaware of for our benefit. The Department of Defense last issued information on troop deployment in December 2008. Obama's recent troop additions of 21,000 troops to Afghanistan were covered here, but is not factored into the below facts.

The DoD report reveals:

• America has military personnel in 147 countries.
• There are 194 states in the world, so therefore we have troops in 76% of all countries on the planet.
• The size of America's armed forces is 1,402,227 soldiers.
• 476,039 of these troops, or 34% are stationed overseas. 15% of our troops are engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• 54,974 soldiers are based in Germany, although WWII ended 64 years ago.
• 34,039 soldiers are based in Japan, although WWII ended 64 years ago.
• 24,655 soldiers are based in South Korea as technically this "police action" that resulted in the deaths of 36,516 Americans and the wounding of 92,134. In my opinion, the greatest barrier to peace with North Korea is the presence of these soldiers.
• We have 0 troops and bases in Vietnam, and get along with their nation fairly well, considering 58,159 were killed and 303,635 wounded during that "police action."

The 2008 DoD military "Base Structure Report" reveals:

• America's DoD is "one of the world's largest "landlords" possessing 545,714 buildings, 5,429 bases, spanning 29.8 million acres of land. (p3/205)
• 761 bases, or 14%, are located on foreign soil. (p23/205)
• 12 of the 111 bases designated as "large" are located on foreign soil. (p33/205)
• However, reading the remainder of the report reveals that bases in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Israel are not listed, so both number of bases and "large" bases are too low.

Over 5,000 soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan for the War of Terror. (source)

Furthermore, CBS and the military revealed that 18 veterans commit suicide per day during the 8-year Global War on Terror, resulting in an estimated 46,000 deaths. (source)

Time Magazine asked several days ago "Why Are Army Recruiters Killing Themselves?"

The DoD stated its total spending in 2009 will be $617 Billion. (p7/26)

However, the data put together by War Resisters League appears to be closer to reality. They demonstrate that America will spend $1,449 Billion on our military during 2009. They estimate the War of Terror has cost $990 Billion.

Keep these facts in mind when "supporting our troops." My conclusion is the best way to do this is for all major deployments should return to US soil as soon as possible. This includes all personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, as I have explained in my writings.

Restore the Republic or Pay for a Bankrupt Military Empire, it is our choice. As for me, "hell in a handbasket" is not an option.

—————

Jake, the Champion of the Constitution [email him] is also a contributing author at the libertarian website www.LibertyMaven.com, populistamerica.com and has been published at the investment sites www.SeekingAlpha.com, goldseek.com, and silverseek.com. A summary of articles and bibliography for Jake, the Champion of the Constitution can be found here.

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AP Self-sacrifice at the Israeli Altar

Editors at the W. Jerusalem bureau of The Associated Press are so preoccupied with appeasing the Israeli censors that they sometimes make the most self-degrading mistakes in their news-wire reports.

Keep in mind that this is the 163-year-old news organization that has ostensibly set such high standards of journalistic excellence that they are "the world's largest and most trusted source of independent news and information"; for, would a trusted editor or bureau chief allow the following discrepancy to occur from one report to the next, within a matter of hours and across multiple copy revisions?

Israel launched its Gaza offensive on Dec. 27 in an attempt to halt rocket fire and weaken the territory's Hamas rulers. More than 1,400 Palestinians, including more than 900 civilians, were killed in the war, according to a Palestinian human rights group. Thirteen Israelis were also killed.
["HRW: Israel's white phosphorous use indiscriminate," 3/25/9]

Israel launched the 22-day air and ground offensive in Gaza on Dec. 27 in an effort to halt years of militant rocket fire by Hamas on its southern communities. The offensive caused an estimated $2 billion in damage and killed nearly 1,300 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, Palestinian officials have said, while at least 13 Israelis died.
["UN says little progress made on key Gaza issues," 3/26/9]

Besides the obvious difference in Palestinian casualties, there are other problems.

— From the beginning of the offensive, Israeli officials gave mutiple and disparate reasons for the invasion, including regime change. So why does AP state, as fact, that their intentions were to "halt years of militant rocket fire"? Every pertinent report since the start of Operation Cast Lead has uncritically repeated that official line.

— If it's so vital to mention Israel's reason for launching its invasion, then why not account for Hamas' reason for launching rockets? The years-long Israeli-U.S.-Egypt-EU blockade of Gaza constitutes war crimes and causes the death and stunted growth (infants, children) of innumerable everyday Palestinians in Gaza, due to malnutrition and lack of proper medical care and sanitation. That and daily aggressions against non-combatant Palestinians in the West Bank have been consistently cited by Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups. AP doesn't report it, even if it's "according to Palestinian . . ."

— If the Palestinian death figures of "more than 1,400 Palestinians" in the first report are "according to a Palestinian human rights group" — and if, in the second, only "Palestinian officials have said" that "nearly 1,300" Palestinians were killed — then who gets credit for the matter-of-factly stated figure of "[t]hirteen Israelis" or "at least 13 Israelis" killed? This obvious double standard in source-citing is inexcusable.

But this brand of "independent news and information" is the rule and not the exception: AP's editors regularly trip over themselves on their way to the Israeli altar and, indeed, the altar of the American empire-state and all its co-dependents.