July 11, 2025 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

One Win, Three Losses:

Trillions of dollars spent. The announced goals: Military victories, winning hearts and minds of foreign peoples, spreading “American democracy.” The results from 1960 through 2010 are one qualified win and three losses – each of which was an unmitigated disaster. Yet, as Andrew Bacevich points out in “Washington Rules,” his recent exposé of the deeply entrenched assumptions underlying American foreign policy – for six decades now – this miserable record has done nothing to dislodge the faulty group-think that is, many believe, leading (or perhaps has already led) this country to its doom.

It is now thoroughly engraved in the mindsets of both Republicans and Democrats, with the populous either oblivious or simply hopelessly passive, that never-ending war is necessary and that America’s role on this planet is to enforce/impose our view of how other countries should behave and whom they should accommodate.

At the basis of this thinking is several ingredients: Arrogance (what J. William Fulbright referred to as the “arrogance of power”); greed – the view that other people’s economies and national resources are fair targets for American exploitation; and finally, a degree of paranoia – for some fifty years (1945-1989) it was the profound fear of communism and for the past almost 10 years (9-11-2001) terrorism has become the new governing “ism.”

So 3,000 Americans died on September 11, and since then, we have created global chaos and badly damaged our own reputation and economy in the process. By the way, that same day – September 11, 2001, 35,000 people – mostly children – died of starvation, malnutrition, and diarrhea. This fact appeared on the back pages of very few U.S. newspapers.

So arrogance, greed, and paranoia have most recently led the USA into Iraq and Afghanistan with disastrous results and we will, inevitably, leave trying linguistically to spin our way out of two more defeats, which added to Vietnam, are the three defeats I suggest we have suffered since l975. To complete the scorecard – the Desert Storm Iraq venture was the one victory – at least militarily. President Bush Junior, however, saw that win as a qualified victory since daddy left Saddam in power. However, for each of these foreign adventures, the costs and results have been appalling yet there is nary a whistle, whisper, or whimper of protest. The same mistakes dressed up in new fancy and different buzz words, are made decade after decade and president after president relies on the same mind-set from advisors of the same institutes and bureaucracies that engineered each of the previous blunders. Our leaders seem so beholden to the CIA-Pentagon-Army-Intelligence-Corporate Military Industry nexus that faulty logic prevails again and again.

What would it take to extricate ourselves from the entrapment of global dominance – intervention — military force to achieve our self-interested goals? What would it take? I fear the challenges may be too great to achieve but we must at least try.

First of all, we need to implement a whole new approach to foreign policy. Rather than imposing our will, we need to use our vast (though diminishing) wealth to assist other nations in meeting their needs: Health, food, water, education, environmental protection, and conservation. If we were to make this our modus vivendi, we might well actually win some hearts and minds or at least gain a measure of international respect.

Secondly, we must look to our own failures at home to achieve democracy and economic justice and well-being. We cannot effectively promote democracy abroad if we do not practice it at home. There is so much to do at home – and abroad – in areas of human rights, decent standards of living for all, and environmental salvation that to continue to squander trillions of dollars in military misadventures not only disgraceful, it is tragic.

in Opinion
<>Related Posts

SM.a.r.t.Column: Happy Fourth of July 

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

SMart (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow) hopes you are enjoying a great 3-day weekend as part of your...

SM.a.r.t Column: Cities That Never Shut Up – The Roaring Cost of Urban Noise

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

In today’s cities, silence isn’t golden—it’s extinct. From sunrise to insomnia, we’re trapped in a nonstop symphony of shrieking car...

SM.a.r.t Column: Santa Monica Needs to See the Light

June 19, 2025

June 19, 2025

How Santa Monica’s Growing Light Pollution Is Eroding Human Health, Safety, and Sanity There was a time when our coastal...

SM.a.r.t Column: California’s Transit Death Spiral: How Housing Mandates Are Backfiring

June 15, 2025

June 15, 2025

California’s ambitious housing mandates were supposed to solve the affordability crisis. Instead, they’re creating a vicious cycle that’s killing public...

SM.a.r.t. Column: A City Dying by a Thousand Cuts

June 5, 2025

June 5, 2025

Santa Monica, once celebrated for its blend of coastal charm and progressive ideals, is slowly bleeding out — not from...

SM.a.r.t Column: Oops!! What Happened? And What Are You Going to Do About It?

May 29, 2025

May 29, 2025

Our Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow (SMa.r.t) articles have, over the past 12 years, collectively presented a critical...

SM.a.r.t Column: Why Santa Monica Might Need a Desalination Plant, and Maybe Even Nuclear Power

May 22, 2025

May 22, 2025

Santa Monica is known for its ocean views, sunny skies, and strong environmental values. But there’s a challenge on the...

SM.a.r.t Column: SMO (So Many Options) Part 3: “Pie in the Sky”

May 17, 2025

May 17, 2025

SMO: Fantasy, Fact, and the Fog of Wishful ThinkingBy someone who read the fine print Every few months, a headline...

SM.a.r.t. Column: Owner Occupancy Protects Against Corporate Over-Development

May 2, 2025

May 2, 2025

This week SMa.r.t. will have as guest columnist Mark Borenstein. Mark is a long-time Santa Monica resident, a retired attorney,...

Opinion: Declaration of Economic State of Emergency in Malibu & Pacific Palisades: A Direct Result of the Devastating Impact of the Palisades Fire

April 27, 2025

April 27, 2025

Malibu and Pacific Palisades Request Emergency Financial Measures By Ramis Sadrieh, Chairperson, Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce    On behalf...

SM.a.r.t Column: The World’s Happiest Cities

April 27, 2025

April 27, 2025

Almost every year, we see new cities, regions, and countries that make the list(s) of our planet’s happiest and healthiest...

SM.a.r.t Column: A City for Everyone

April 20, 2025

April 20, 2025

Santa Monica dazzles with its ocean views, sunshine, and laid-back charm. But beyond the postcard image lies a more complicated...

SM.a.r.t Column: Part II: Rebuilding Resilient Communities: Policy and Planning After the Fires

April 13, 2025

April 13, 2025

The January 2025 wildfires that devastated Pacific Palisades and Altadena left an indelible mark on Los Angeles County. Beyond the...

SM.a.r.t Column: Innovative Materials for Fire-Resistant Rebuilding After the LA Fires

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

In the aftermath of the devastating 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, homeowners face the daunting task of rebuilding their lives and...

Opinion: Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath Community Column Regarding a More Accountable Homeless Services System

April 3, 2025

April 3, 2025

By Lindsay Horvath, Los Angeles Board of Supervisors This week marks a significant milestone in our fight to end homelessness...