Authored by Antonius Aquinas via Acting-Man.com,
Cryptic Pronouncements
If a world conflagration, God forbid, should break out during the Trump Administration, its genesis will not be too hard to discover: the thin-skinned, immature, shallow, doofus who currently resides in the Oval Office!
The commander-in-chief – a potential source of radiation?
This past week, the Donald has continued his bellicose talk with both veiled and explicit threats against purported American adversaries throughout the world. In a cryptic exchange with reporters during a dinner with military leaders, he quipped:
You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm. It could be the calm… before… the storm.*
A reporter asked if he meant Iran or Isis which the POTUS responded, “you’ll find out.” Instead of threatening supposed overseas foes with nuclear annihilation, none of whom have taken any concrete military action against the US, why not go after someone who has actually compromised the country’s security, namely Hillary Rodham Clinton!
While some dismissed the comments as typical Trumpian bluster, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders added further ominous overtones when questioned saying they were “extremely serious.” Later in the week, Trump continued to threaten tiny North Korea, this time in not so veiled terms:
“Presidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid hasn’t worked, agreements violated before the ink was dry, making fools of U.S. negotiators. Sorry, but only one thing will work”.**
If war erupts either on the Korean Peninsula or in any other part of the globe that the U.S has wantonly poked its nose into, it can be safely assured that neither Trump nor any of the other “military leaders,” with whom he recently had dinner with will be in the midst of hostilities as the bombs and bullets are being cast about.
No, these laptop bombers will be in safe quarters far away from enemy lines, giving orders, making speeches, and praising the troops, while Congress will be hurriedly passing more “defense” funding legislation further lining the pockets of the military industrial complex.
Too far removed from the battlefield…
Curtailing the Warmongers
The Warmonger-in-Chief, who has repeatedly bragged about America’s military prowess, had a chance to become a part of the organization he constantly gushes over during his youth at the time of the Vietnam War. Yet, he escaped military service, due to the machinations of his father, because of a mysterious foot/toe malady.
All those who avoided being conscripted into America’s disastrous imperial exercise in Southeast Asia during those years, whether it was from phony medical conditions, escaping to Canada or beyond, or going to jail, they did so for justifiable reasons.
The war was immoral, since Vietnam had taken no hostile action against the US and what made it worse, the government drafted thousands of America’s youth to fight it. It is reprehensible that those who got out of military service then are now at the forefront in advocating mass murder (war).
One resolution that would certainly curtail warmongering in the future would be that any legislator, president, cabinet officer, or ambassador who promotes military intervention abroad should be required to directly participate in field operations. This would quickly put the brakes on threatening talk from the likes of Trump and his crazed UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley.
A country’s leadership personally conducting military operations has a long tradition in Western history. During the era of the crusades, princes and kings led their retinues and forces into battle risking their own life and limb – such as the great Norman prince, Bohemond, whose courage, tenacity, and military acumen won the day for Christian forces at the battle of Antioch.
From left to right: Bohemond I of Antioch, Bohemond’s troops scaling the ramparts of Antioch in AD 1098, Bohemond’s mausoleum in Canosa di Puglia. Bohemond was the son of Rober Guiscard, the count of Apulia and Calabria. His real name was Mark Guiscard. He was a nicknamed Bohemond after a legendary giant – the name was given to him because he was an unusually tall and strong man, dwarfing those around him. Even for a crusader, Bohemond’s life was unusually colorful. [PT]
This venerable ideal can still be seen in Russia when recently one of its generals and two colonels lost their lives in the Syrian quagmire.*** When was the last time a US general has perished in active combat?
It is apparent that the current POTUS does not understand the catastrophic consequences of what his threats, if carried out, would lead to – death to millions, unimaginable destruction, and the end of civilization.
A brief history of US-North Korean relations in the 2000ds
Maybe, had he actually suffered through the horrors of combat or had been the victim of US aggression as the peoples of North Korea, Vietnam and Iraq have witnessed, he might refrain from such bellicose language.
Hopefully, cooler heads in the Administration will prevail, however, a more peaceful world is unlikely with the likes of Donald J. Trump at the command of the greatest destructive force in human history.
References:
*Tyler Durden, “President Trump Warns Ominously: ‘It’s the Calm Before the Storm.’” Zero Hedge. 6 October 2017.
**Tyler Durden, “Trump Hints at War With North Korea: ‘Sorry, But Only One Thing Will Work.’” Zerohedge, 7 October 2017.
***Alexander, “General Asapov Died Because as a Russian Officer He Led From the Front.” Russia Feed. 30 September 2017.