War Is A Racket

"WAR is a racket. It always has been... A few profit - and the many pay. But there is a way to stop it. You can't end it by disarmament conferences. You can't eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can't wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war." -- Major General Smedley Butler, USMC 1935

General Butler was one of the greatest Americans who ever lived.  Twice awarded the Medal of Honor, General Butler was known as "The Fighting Quaker." He single handedly stopped a military coup against President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933 and wrote "War is a Racket" a classic case on how to prevent war.

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The Plot Against FDR

In 1933 Major General Smedley Darlington Butler reported to Congress a coup plot against President Franklin Roosevelt, sponsored by wealthy corporate interests.  

Alarmed by Roosevelt's "New Deal" which would redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, Irenee Du Pont, Grayson Murphy, William Doyle, John Davis and other representatives of J.P. Morgan banks, Du Pont, Goodyear and Bethlehem Steel sought to overthrow the U.S. government with a military coup and replace it with a fascist state, based on the success of Mussolini and Hitler in Italy and Germany. Remember, this was long before military action had been taken by Italy or Germany.

General Butler was immensely popular with veterans and active troops.  As a war hero, twice awarded the Medal of Honor, General Butler was known as "The Fighting Quaker" and a man of unimpeachable honesty and integrity.  The conspirators tried to recruit Butler, by promising him an army of 500,000 active and veteran soldiers, unlimited financial backing and generous media spin control. The plot was foiled when Butler reported it to Congress.

General Butler reported the details of the coup attempt to what later became the U.S. Congress House Un-American Activities Committee.  The committee whitewashed the public version of its final report, deleting the names of the powerful businessmen whose reputations they sought to protect. The corporate owned media managed to spin the story as rumors and hearsay and the plot was generally covered up for many years.  In 1967, journalist John Spivak uncovered the Committee's internal, secret report (via FOIA) which clearly confirmed Butler's story.

The Plot Against FDR - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot

The Rise of Hitler - http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/dictator.htm

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War Is A Racket - Speech 1933

-- Excerpts from a speech by Major General Smedley Butler, USMC - 1933

War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

Smedley Butler on Interventionism - http://www.fas.org/man/smedley.htm

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War Is A Racket - Book 1935

-- Exerpts from the book "War Is A Racket" by Major General Smedley Butler, USMC - 1935

WAR is a racket. It always has been.

It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

In the World War (WWI) a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows.

Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few – the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill.

This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations.

...a war that might well cost us tens of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of lives of Americans, and many more hundreds of thousands of physically maimed and mentally unbalanced men.

Of course, for this loss, there would be a compensating profit – fortunes would be made. Millions and billions of dollars would be piled up. By a few. Munitions makers. Bankers. Ship builders. Manufacturers. Meat packers. Speculators. They would fare well.

Yes, they are getting ready for another war. Why shouldn't they? It pays high dividends.

The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits – ah! that is another matter – twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent – the sky is the limit.

Of course, it isn't put that crudely in war time. It is dressed into speeches about patriotism, love of country, and "we must all put our shoulders to the wheel," but the profits jump and leap and skyrocket – and are safely pocketed.

A few profit – and the many pay. But there is a way to stop it. You can't end it by disarmament conferences. You can't eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can't wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war.

War Is A Racket by Major General Smedley Butler - http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

Major General Smedley Butler - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler

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