Finian Cunningham
If voters want U.S. wars to stop, they must organize and demand radical change in the political system.
The spectacular drubbing that President Trump and his Republican Party received in the midterm elections was not merely a vote against a corrupt and backsliding administration. It was a massive protest against Washington's war against Iran and all U.S.-led conflicts.
This is something that the Democratic Party leadership should take note of. They should view the Congressional gains made this week not as an endorsement of their policies. The Democrats are equally culpable and held in contempt for their record of warmaking.
Karen Kwiatkowski, a renowned Pentagon whistleblower and critic of U.S. foreign policy, argues that American voters are increasingly aware of the militarism that drives the U.S. political system and economy. She believes that the dramatic election results this week were not merely a rejection of Trump as a flawed individual leader, but rather they register a growing radicalism in the U.S. populace seeking a genuine, fundamental change in government policies. Both parties are on watch by an ever more critical electorate.
Kwiatkowski says that voters know that both parties, Republicans and Democrats, are reprehensibly responsible for "endless wars". They voted for Dems this time primarily as a way to demonstrate their contempt for Trump, who promised to end war and concentrate on building up America First.
But the voters know that the Dems are just as likely to betray the popular will for America to stop waging wars and conduct peaceful international relations; to stop wasteful militarism at the expense of domestic public need for better jobs, housing, education, and healthcare.
Kwiatkowski takes aim at the structural changes that are needed in the U.S. political system for the nation to become law-abiding and to peacefully coexist with the rest of the world. She points out the endemic militarization of the U.S. economy and how that warps Washington's policies, regardless of which party or president is in office.
The structural change required will not be easy because so much of the political economy is wedded to militarism and war. But if popular demand does not succeed in making the desired change, she reckons that the entire system will collapse from unsustainable corruption, waste of resources, running up unpayable debt (over $40 trillion), and the moral decay from incessant warmongering.
American citizens want a government that serves their democratic interests and needs, not the oligarchy, Wall Street and corporate welfare, or the Israeli regime and its lobbyists.
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said after the results this week, "we hear you" - referring to voters. The Dem leaders may hear, but are they listening ? As Karen Kwiatkowski points out, the Democrats in Congress are ardent about sending more military aid to Ukraine to fight a proxy war against Russia. The NeoNazi regime in Kiev is torturing its own people if they don't volunteer for the meatgrinder of war.
If voters want U.S. wars to stop, they must organize and demand radical change in the political system that both parties have been corruptly gaming as a giant war racket.