Search
I'm looking for...
Filter by

Or ESC to close

podcasts
Explicit

Understorey Asia: The United States of War

The world watches as Afghanistan falls disastrously under Taliban rule, while this week the United States commemorates the twentieth year since 15 Saudi Arabian nationals (and a few others) attacked the twin towers in New York.  Three thousand civilians died in the 9-11 bombings, but up to 4.5 million people have died in America’s endless wars since then.  Australia has joined these wars of choice that have cost national budgets, caused vast environmental damage, and shattered the lives of tens of millions.  Our occasional series Understorey Asia begins with David Vine, author of “The United States of War,”  accounting for the damage done by the American empire: the recurrent wars of choice (carefully engineered by corporate, congressional and defence interests); the environmental and human jeopardy involved in hundreds of US bases in our region, including those in Darwin, Pine Gap and North West Cape; and the military exercises which also engage us in this militarised view of foreign policy.  Apart from disaster abroad, these wars have drained the people’s wealth.  Foreign policy is generated by arms corporations, selling to the military, while politicians receive generous donations from the same arms manufacturers they publicly finance: it’s a complex but endless cycle that further militarises foreign policy – all for nothing but to making problems worse. David Vine reminds us of the urgency for allies of the US, like Australia, or at least our civil society, to head off ill-advised talk of an “inevitable” war against China, which would outweigh the mistakes already made in countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Photo: Detail, “The United States of War” cover, University of California Press.

Love music?

Love RTRFM.

Support Us

00:00:00 /

/

RTRFM - Infinite Mix