W.E. A.L.L. B.E.: "War Is A Racket" By Gen. Smedley Butler

31.1.11

W.E. A.L.L. B.E.: "War Is A Racket" By Gen. Smedley Butler: "Take our own case. Until 1898 we didn't own a bit of territory outside the mainland of North America. At that time our national debt was a little more than $1,000,000,000. Then we became 'internationally minded.' We forgot, or shunted aside, the advice of the Father of our country. We forgot George Washington's warning about 'entangling alliances.' We went to war. We acquired outside territory. At the end of the World War period, as a direct result of our fiddling in international affairs, our national debt had jumped to over $25,000,000,000. Our total favorable trade balance during the twenty-five-year period was about $24,000,000,000. Therefore, on a purely bookkeeping basis, we ran a little behind year for year, and that foreign trade might well have been ours without the wars.

It would have been far cheaper (not to say safer) for the average American who pays the bills to stay out of foreign entanglements. For a very few this racket, like bootlegging and other underworld rackets, brings fancy profits, but the cost of operations is always transferred to the people – who do not profit."