tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35519852.post2369840669354364555..comments2016-12-27T11:06:05.915-08:00Comments on The Neutralist: A Superpower SkepticRichard Morchoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14884103775820347526noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35519852.post-2017221298206861312008-02-10T13:02:00.000-08:002008-02-10T13:02:00.000-08:00Dear Mr. Larson,I have no illusions, though it is ...Dear Mr. Larson,<BR/><BR/>I have no illusions, though it is my desparate hope that the nation change its foreign policy ethos before we get to the Enron style collapse.Richard Morchoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14884103775820347526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35519852.post-64035491589784265602008-02-10T11:52:00.000-08:002008-02-10T11:52:00.000-08:00I am a 2 tour Vietnam Veteran who recently retired...I am a 2 tour Vietnam Veteran who recently retired after 36 years of working in the Defense Industrial Complex on many of the weapons systems being used by our forces as we speak.<BR/><BR/>Politicians make no difference. <BR/><BR/>We have bought into the Military Industrial Complex (MIC). If you would like to read how this happens please see:<BR/><BR/>http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/03/spyagency200703 <BR/><BR/>http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/11/halliburton200711<BR/><BR/>Through a combination of public apathy and threats by the MIC we have let the SYSTEM get too large. It is now a SYSTEMIC problem and the SYSTEM is out of control. Government and industry are merging and that is very dangerous. <BR/><BR/>There is no conspiracy. The SYSTEM has gotten so big that those who make it up and run it day to day in industry and government simply are perpetuating their existance.<BR/><BR/>The politicians rely on them for details and recommendations because they cannot possibly grasp the nuances of the environment and the BIG SYSTEM.<BR/><BR/>So, the system has to go bust and then be re-scaled, fixed and re-designed to run efficiently and prudently, just like any other big machine that runs poorly or becomes obsolete or dangerous.<BR/><BR/>This situation will right itself through trauma. I see a government ENRON on the horizon, with an associated house cleaning.<BR/><BR/>The next president will come and go along with his appointees and politicos. The event to watch is the collapse of the MIC.<BR/><BR/>For more details see:<BR/><BR/>http://rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.com<BR/><BR/><BR/>Well written. <BR/><BR/>The world is so tightly wired and moving at such warp speed in communications, technology and dangerous weapons that it is extremely difficult to know when tyranny is sprouting because we get overwhelmed with the details and ignore the trends. <BR/><BR/>Tyranny sprouts within massive beaurocratic organizations that imbed themselves in economies and assume a life of their own. These organizations become entrenched and difficult to change because they are wired to so much of economic and public life (a defense company in every state, a pork project tacked onto a defense appropriation. <BR/><BR/>We target our elected officials as figureheads for our frustration, when in fact the real culprit is a big, faceless machine grinding onward, never changing, because we (the citizenry and the politician) will not bite the bullet and dismantle it. It finally collapses of its own weight. <BR/><BR/>Some who analyze tyranny believe the best way to avoid it is to avoid violations of the constitution. That is a bit simplistic in our era. The conundrum is detecting complex circumstances with the potential to become violations of the constitution before they become horror stories like Iraq and do something about them IN ADVANCE.<BR/><BR/>As students of history we know much of what we are experiencing today in war and politics is tied to human nature. I believe the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) must collapse before that brand of tyranny changes. <BR/><BR/>A new brand of politics and accountability must then emerge, one that will deal from within when organizations such as the MIC self-destruct catastrophically from greed and avarice. The big issue after such events will be: "What do we put in the place of such beaurocracies gone afoul to manage something as important and expensive as our national defense?" <BR/><BR/>The US political system classically appoints a blue ribbon panel to study such problems spread the blame and write a detailed report no one reads. We must do better then that in the future. The impending trauma will not permit it.<BR/><BR/>http://rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.comRoseCovered Glasseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14959248140987830086noreply@blogger.com