{"id":46,"date":"2008-04-02T12:13:49","date_gmt":"2008-04-02T10:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bogvaerker.dk\/wordpress\/?p=46"},"modified":"2009-07-15T04:20:44","modified_gmt":"2009-07-15T02:20:44","slug":"war-is-a-racket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bogvaerker.dk\/wordpress\/?p=46","title":{"rendered":"War is a racket"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Smedley Darlington Butler<\/strong> (July 30<\/a>,\u00a01881<\/a> June 21<\/a>,\u00a01940<\/a>),\u00a0nicknamed<\/a> “The Fighting Quaker<\/strong>” and “Old Gimlet Eye<\/strong>,” was a\u00a0Major General<\/a> in the\u00a0U.S. Marine Corps<\/a> and, at the time of his death, the most decorated Marine in\u00a0U.S. history<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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In his 1935 book,\u00a0War Is a Racket<\/a><\/em>, Butler presented an\u00a0expos\u00e9<\/a> and trenchant condemnation of the profit motive behind warfare. His views on the subject are well summarized in the following passage from a 1935 issue of “the non-Marxist<\/a>,\u00a0socialist<\/a>” magazine,\u00a0Common Sense<\/em> one of Butler’s most widely quoted statements:<\/div>\n
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“I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class\u00a0muscle man<\/a> for\u00a0Big Business<\/a>, for\u00a0Wall Street<\/a> and the bankers. In short, I was a\u00a0racketeer<\/a>, a\u00a0gangster<\/a>for\u00a0capitalism<\/a>. I helped make\u00a0Mexico<\/a> and especially\u00a0Tampico<\/a> safe for American\u00a0oil interests<\/a> in 1914. I helped make\u00a0Haiti<\/a> and\u00a0Cuba<\/a> a decent place for the\u00a0National City Bank<\/a> boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen\u00a0Central American<\/a> republics<\/a> for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify\u00a0Nicaragua<\/a> for theInternational Banking House<\/a> of\u00a0Brown Brothers<\/a> in 1902-1912. I brought light to the\u00a0Dominican Republic<\/a> for the American\u00a0sugar<\/a> interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American\u00a0fruit companies<\/a> in 1903. In\u00a0China<\/a> in 1927 I helped see to it that\u00a0Standard Oil<\/a> went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given\u00a0Al Capone<\/a> a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his\u00a0racket<\/a> in three districts. I operated on three continents.”<\/em>[19]<\/a><\/sup><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30,\u00a01881 June 21,\u00a01940),\u00a0nicknamed “The Fighting Quaker” and “Old Gimlet Eye,” was a\u00a0Major General in the\u00a0U.S. Marine Corps and, at the time of his death, the most decorated Marine in\u00a0U.S. history. In his 1935 book,\u00a0War Is a Racket, Butler presented an\u00a0expos\u00e9 and trenchant condemnation of the profit motive behind warfare. His views … <\/p>\n

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