Don't Rethink Who Makes Your Shampoo

The Real Matrix article opened my eyes as to the extent to which so many companies are tied in with the armed forces in business. The web that is weaved when talking about government contracts with private companies to provide anything from weapons to toothbrushes is discombobulating. However, as shocking (and annoying) as it was to see the article continuously rattle off nearly every company's tie to the military throughout the story, I don't think it's cause to revolt. I don't think it's any better to refuse to buy GE because they make some of the vehicles they drive around on then I do to stop buying J&J because they make the shampoo that soldiers use. This type of association and business is a necessary part of the development and maintenance of a standing army.

Shepperd and Meigs Escape From Guantanamo Bay (from the author of "Shepperd and Meigs Go to White Castle")

In similar topic to my last post, the article by the New York Times, "Behind Military Analysts, the Pentagon's Hidden Hand," offers another look at the control over the media that the armed forces exercise. I remember many news reports that claimed to have special, professional, and knowledgeable insight, into the War on Terror and its areas of concern, like Guantanamo Bay. But these retired military officers, which we were led to believe were able to provide adequate unbiased analysis of current military operations, gave no such original content. Their ties to military contractors and special all-access passes kept them roped quite closely to what amounted almost to a script of talking points to be made while on the air.. from the Pentagon. Their carefully orchestrated tour of Guantanamo Bay as well as the rest of their analysis on Iraq was not their own. The information they got about all of the topics was directly given to them by the Pentagon, and we can be certain that any unfavorable facts, figures, or images were carefully strewed away. I think this ties into my last post, that they lack of vigilance by journalists and network executives paved the way for these Pentagon posterboys to shore up the Bush Doctrine and keep the American people in a perpetual state of ignorance.

Why We Fight vs How We Report

I think one of the most important points that was brought up in the documentary "Why We Fight" was about the relationship between the Pentagon and the media. The line, "we need to prevent another American body from getting on the air again" comes to mind. After Vietnam, the Pentagon realized the drastic negative affect of certain images appearing on television. Namely the dead bodies of U.S. soldiers. I feel like our journalists have failed us in maintaining a critical and unbiased view of the military and our government. An interviewee in the documentary said that the U.S. has been in a state of diminished vigilance since the time of Dwight Eisenhower. I feel like the media has made the same mistake. They succumbed to the same blind rage and vengeance that the rest of America felt after 9/11 and the failure in capturing Osama Bin Laden. The next President and group of leadership in the U.S. must take new insight and skepticism in examining our current strategy in foreign policy and the War on Terror so that we may reinstate not only the reputation of American throughout the world, but first, to its own citizens.

Outsourcing We Can All Agree On

The privatization of the military as a means for national defense would not be safe. The disadvantages of private military forces outlined in "Corporate Warriors" includes the lack of consistent humanitarian practices and lack of strict loyalty found in national armies. However, I am in favor of the use of private forces for aiding in foreign countries that are plagued by domestic conflict. It's sad to say, but the American people don't feel that it is our responsibility to interfere in foreign conflicts that don't effect our national security or interest. But many of these conflicts are borderline genocide. Therefore, I would support the use of private forces hired by the U.N. or other international body to enforce peace and create stability in many impoverished. It would be a win-win for the people of the affect nations as well as the countries sanctioning the orders.