Andrew J. Bacevich: The Revisionist Imperative

In summation: The Stupid Little People are manipulated into a militaristic frenzy by a mysterious cabal of war-loving politicians and Hollywood producers. It's just that obvious!

This Smedley Butler-esque critique is profoundly old and tiresome ("the sucker class" was Butler's term for the hoi polloi). This speech does not represent serious scholarship.

War is assuredly a much abused policy instrument, but not for the simplistic reasons that Gramsci, uhhh... I mean, Bacevich suggests. They are both much more profound (particularly the cultural imperatives and diplomatic intracacies) and mundane (the fundamental cluelessness of policy-makers since time immemorial) than he chooses to admit.

Naturally, Bacevich cites nations like Germany, France and England as the moral and intellectual superiors of the cretinous and easily-fooled Americans. Yet, I recall an Englishman who, on the subject of war, once put the following words in the mouth of a Danish prince:

This is th'imposthume of much wealth and peace,
That inward breaks, and shows no cause without
Why the man dies.

There's a lot more wisdom in that than Bacevich's speech. And, it's a lot shorter.

Bacevich's remarks are well worth considering. My concern is that he is not the first to utter this sentiment, and the Washington-Hollywood complex (as he terms it) goes on as it has throughout this century. If this struck a chord with you, it would be well worth your time to look at Richard Slotkin's <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gunfighter-Nation-Frontier-Twentieth-Century-Amer… Nation</a></em>. It is a great look at how entertainers, journalists, and politicians have used popular mythologies to drive foreign policy.