Rouge One
Introduction
Smedley Butler’s War Is a Racket, written in 1935, is more relevant today than ever. In a world dominated by defense contractors, private military companies, and oil interests, Butler’s piercing critique of war profiteering remains shockingly accurate. His core thesis? War is not fought for democracy or freedom but for profit. As we examine conflicts from the past 20 years, from the Iraq War to the Afghanistan debacle and U.S. global arms sales, it becomes clear: war is still very much a racket, and the corporations are still cashing in while soldiers pay the price. Today, things are probably even more insidious. In 1961, two and a half decades after Butler’s prophetic words, another famous general warned America to beware of the gravity-warping defense industry.
This article will examine their warnings and show the causal links of how the Defense industry has perverted American foreign policy decisions for generations.
Butler’s Prophetic Warning
Two-time Medal of Honor recipient Major General Smedley Butler, U.S. Marine Corps, didn’t hold back when he wrote War Is a Racket in 1935. The veteran of “The Small Wars” in the Western Hemisphere, the Great War, China during the Boxer Rebellion, and other campaigns, Butler had a depth of war experience, particularly in what some dubbed America’s colonial period. Based on decades of global combat experience, he exposed how wars serve the interests of a small, powerful group—corporations, bankers, and arms manufacturers—while the general public foots the bill in blood and taxes. Butler’s claim was simple: wars are fought not for freedom but for the massive profits that flow to these corporations.
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