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Some time ago, I read a news article in the New York Times entitled "Recession Drains Social Security and Medicare". This particular article -- of which there have been many similar articles in recent months -- discussed how Medicare and Social Security -- which are two programs that are run by the American government to primarily assist the sick, the disabled and the elderly -- are in serious danger of being subjected to financial cuts, due to the financial meltdown and the ongoing sluggish American economy which occurred in 2008.

As I mentioned to my readers and online acquaintances, what really bothers me about reports such as these, is that they harp on how bad the American economy is, and how millions of American citizens are suffering wage decreases, losing their jobs, losing their homes, losing their life savings, etc., and yet, rarely is there ever any mention of the billions of dollars that the American government spends every single year on its war efforts. Neither do such reports ever mention the fact that billions of dollars more are likewise spent every single year in order to support and prop up -- or perhaps it would be better to say bribe -- US-friendly nations. As you will clearly see in just a minute, that includes a number of outright dictatorships.

A clear case in point are the nations of Israel and Egypt. As I have mentioned before, since 1979, these nations have been paid by the American government to keep the peace. Do not think for even a minute that peace has endured between these two rivals, simply because they like each other. They have both been given some very strong incentive to keep the peace; and that is billions of US dollars and military aid, among other things. Let us also not forget that prior to being forced from power by the January 25th Revolution of 2011, Hosni Mubarak -- the so-called "president" of Egypt -- was an absolute dictator who ruled Egypt with an iron hand for about three decades, with the blessing of the Egyptian military, being as he was one of their own people.

After Mubarak's downfall and incarceration, Mohamed Morsi -- of the Muslim Brotherhood -- was legitimately elected as the new president of Egypt. However, dark forces were already at work to bring him down, in the form of Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who Morsi appointed as Minister of Defence. This position also made Sisi the de facto Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces. El-Sisi then used his position to lead a successful military coup against Morsi, after which he suspended the Egyptian Constitution, and proposed a new constitution, as well as new parliamentary and presidential elections. Oh what a schemer!

As many of you will know, following the downfall of Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, the deaths of hundreds of civilians, and an interim government led by Adly Mansour, Sisi eventually became the new president of Egypt, in a very questionable election in 2014. But make no mistake. While he may carry the title "president", the man is just as much a military dictator as Hosni Mubarak ever was. In fact, he has given the Egyptian military unchecked power. But what I find most interesting is the fact that El-Sisi received training in both Great Britain and the United States. To me, that says a lot about the U.S. government.

It must be very nice to have your dictatorship financially supported by the American government. Bear in mind that Hosni Mubarak -- and el-Sisi -- are not the only dictators who have received such assistance from the American government. As I have pointed out on other occasions, the Middle East -- and the rest of the world -- is home to a number of such thugs and dictators who receive financial and military aid from the United States.

I've mentioned a number of times before, both in my articles, and on the Bill's Bible Basics Blog, that the government of the United States has proven time and time again that it is more than willing to look the other way when a particular foreign government oppresses and suppresses its own people, just as long as that government remains US-friendly, and in some fashion serves American interests. Quite often, it seems that it is only when human rights abuses come to the fore in the mass media, that the American government will play its role, temporarily demonstrate superficial concern, and demand that a particular country improve its human rights record. But once the heat dies down, it is back to business as usual.

If you doubt that this is so, then I invite you to conduct personal research of your own. Compile a list of all of the countries that receive American aid in one form or another. Then, examine what kind of leaders and government rule each of those nations. Are they a dictatorship, or a monarchy, or a true democracy in which the leaders were freely elected by the people? Examine their human rights record. Trust me when I say that you will soon discover that many of the so-called "presidents" of the Middle East and elsewhere are not truly elected presidents at all. They are corrupt thugs who rule through fear and intimidation, and who oppress their people by whatever means they deem necessary, in order that they might remain in power. Sadly, as I have said, a number of these tyrants are supported by the American government.

As I said, Hosni Mubarak was certainly one such thug. Bashar al-Assad of Syria is also of that same ilk. However, despite the ongoing civil war in that country, al-Assad has managed to remain in power until now due to help from Russia. Another such dictator was Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen. He remained in power for twenty-two years until he was forced to resign as a result of the Yemeni Revolution of 2011. The same holds true for Colonel Muammar el-Gaddafi, the former leader of Libya. The former "president" of Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, the Saud family of Saudi Arabia, and King Abdullah II of Jordan are or were de facto dictators as well. None of these leaders were freely elected into office. They rose to power either as a result of being part of some family dynasty, or because they resorted to very questionable means to achieve their objectives.

For a small period of time, the world was watching with a certain degree of amazement as the harsh winds of change of the so-called "Arab Spring" began to blow through the lands of the Middle East. There was hope for change. Despite the odds being against it happening, perhaps true democracy was finally going to take root in the Middle East. Sadly, such thoughts were misplaced. Now, not even a decade later, the dust has settled, and it has become clear that not much has really changed in the Middle East. Democracy is as fleeting as ever.

While the desperate and violent attempts that were made by some of those thugs came to naught, and they were eventually removed from power, that area of the world is still ruled by dictators. Even though their violent actions have reinforced the hatred of their very own people against them, and even though, in some cases, world opinion has also turned against them, so that there is a lot of pressure on them to resign, some of those thugs have still managed to remain in power. Such is the case with Bashar al-Assad. As we have seen with Egypt, in other cases, one dictator falls, and another one simply rises to take his place. It is a vicious cycle.

But let us return to the primary emphasis of this article. It is my opinion that if the American government would stop its foolish, wasteful, destructive wars, and stop bribing other nations so that they will do America's bidding, there would be literally billions of dollars in surplus, which obviously could be put to better use by assisting the American people, who should, after all, come first. Rather than threaten the Social Security system, Medicare and other entitlements with deep cuts which no doubt will have a very negative impact on America's sick, disabled, elderly and other groups, the US Government simply needs to shift money from its war machine.

As I was pondering this neglect of the American government, I was reminded of a verse that was written by the Apostle Paul. In his first Epistle to Timothy, Paul wrote the following:

"But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."


While Paul was obviously speaking more on a familiar level, that is, to the heads of Christian families in his own time, I believe that by extension, we can also apply his words on a national level as well. That is, to a national government such as the US government. If we look at the verse from that perspective, then it would seem that providing billions of dollars in annual support to its foreign friends -- some of whom are dictators -- is not the American government's first priority. Taking proper care of its own people is.

To make matters worse, while the American government has been willing to spend trillions of dollars to bail out the greedy automobile industry, as well as greedy, self-serving banking executives who -- to our shock and dismay -- have the audacity to continue giving themselves undeserved bonuses, it is doing this at the expense of the American people. For example, the news article in question -- which was written nine years ago when I first wrote this particular article -- said that needy Americans would not receive another increase in their Social Security benefits until 2012, even though the cost of living would no doubt continue to rise until that time. But that is not all. According to the article, the COLA -- or "cost of living adjustment" -- in 2012 would be very minimal, if it happened at all. That is exactly what happened too. For two years, Social Security recipients saw zero increase in their monthly check.

Thus, it can be said that, Biblically-speaking, the American Government is in fact an infidel, because it is not assisting those who are in most need of its help -- everyday American citizens. Sadly, I seriously doubt that the situation will change much any time soon; because if there is one thing that has become evident, it is that the US government is comprised in large part of career politicians who serve themselves, and not the people who elected them to office in the first place. Furthermore, US government officials who are appointed by the President don't even need to worry about being accountable to the people, because they can't even be voted out of office.

It is interesting to note that at the very end of my January 2017 series called "What About the Poor?", I warned that with the election of Donald Trump as the new president of the USA, the situation was going to get worse for the poor, the sick, and the elderly. And that is exactly what has been happening too. Trump and the Republicans are tightening up requirements regarding eligibility, and taking other steps with certain of these programs, which will only harm the aforementioned groups in the long run, and make life more difficult for them. Yes; I know what I am talking about, because I am also sick, poor and elderly myself.

After sharing the previous comments online in one of my blog entries, one particular fellow -- a real red, white and blue military man -- began leaving comments in which he basically tried to defend America's propensity for war. In his view, America's foreign military engagements are all justifiable. Of course, I was not surprised by his response; and in fact, I even expected it. The truth is that a person simply cannot be a member of the US military, and not have that kind of an attitude. Let's be honest here. They are all trained to be patriotic fighting machines, and killing machines, from day one, just like soldiers in every other country around the world. One simply cannot effectively fight for something in which he does not truly believe. Thus, heavy indoctrination and cultivating patriotism is a major part of military life in every nation; and it begins with children playing video games, where they first acquire a lust for violence.

This very same individual also tried to twist my words, by suggesting that I was promoting the idea that America should adopt an isolationist approach in regards to the rest of the world, which I most certainly was not. I believe that America needs to engage the rest of the world, but most certainly not in the aggressive manner in which it has been doing for many years now. This same military man likewise stated that what I advocate basically amounts to ignoring the evil that exists in the world; which again, is by no means the truth. I assure you that I am more than aware of the evil that exists in this world. With daily bombardments from the mass media, how can anyone not be aware of it? Furthermore, the Bible adequately exposes the evil that dwells in the hearts of men, as we see by the following example verses:

"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."


"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"


"And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."


However, it has long been my view that the way to engage the evil in the world is not by creating more evil or by engaging in more violence. That is exactly what war is. It is an evil, destructive force which really helps no one, other than the victor. But at what price?

The simple truth of the matter is that there's a substantial distinction between what the US military advocates, and what I personally advocate as a Christian, and as one who believes in Jesus' doctrine of peace. In short, in my view, there is a very big difference between protecting the American people against an imminent foreign military threat, and purposely going out of one's way to pick fights with other nations, in order to forcefully impose America's hegemonic agenda upon the rest of the world. That is exactly what America does too, time and time again.

If there is one lesson that smaller, weaker nations of the world have learned, it is that if they have something that America wants -- such as some particular natural resource, or maybe a strategic location for a US military base -- they had better watch out; because one way or the other, America will eventually get what it wants. If bribes and corrupting the nation's leader fails to do the trick, then the American government will turn to oppressive economic strategies such as unfair trade policies, sanctions and economic blockades, fomenting civil unrest, and other unscrupulous tactics. If that nation still fails to give in to American demands, then military action against that country -- which will be based on trumped up charges -- may very well be the next thing on the American agenda. I am reminded of some of the words of King David. In Psalm 140 he wrote the following concerning his enemies:

"[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.] Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war."


When the United States wants something from another nation, it certainly does "imagine mischiefs in its heart" against that nation, and it certainly does seem that the political and military leadership of America is "continually gathered together for war" against some nation, somewhere in the world.

Even looking at the past sixty+ years of history, we see a common thread in America's military strategy. For example, North Korea never posed an imminent military threat to the American people. Yet the American military became involved in the Korean War in 1950, because it was actually a proxy war involving the USA, NATO, China and Russia. There have been thousands of American troops stationed in that country to this very day; not so much because America is concerned about the South Koreans, but because it provides a strategic military base for the United States in that region of the world, similar to other countries such as Japan and the Philippines.

In fact, while it is not commonly known to many Americans, just as foreign powers carved up the lands of the Middle East and Western Asia according to their own whims and political interests over sixty years ago, Korea was likewise split in two by the USA, following the defeat of the Japanese at the end of World War II. It was this division which ultimately led to the Korean War. To this day, there are many Koreans on both sides of the Korean DMZ at the 38th parallel, who would love to see their country united as one again.

As I write the update for this article, a historic meeting between American President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea is due to occur in less than two weeks. While a lot of negative banter has been occurring between these two leaders over the past few months, and even though President Trump canceled the meeting due to Kim's bravado and talk of war, it appears that the summit may possibly occur after all. We don't have long to find out how serious these leaders are in their quest to finally resolve the Korean conflict, and to bring some form of peace to that region of the world.

The 1960's were much the same. The Southeast Asian nation of Vietnam never at any time posed an imminent military threat to the American people. Yet the American military mercilessly ravaged that nation, while the American people were sold the lie that the purpose of that war was supposedly to protect them from communism. Sadly, it has been estimated that almost 60,000 American soldiers died needlessly in that brutal war, and many more Vietnamese suffered at the hands of America's merciless war machine. Ironically, today, four decades later, Vietnam, which still has a communist government, is a trading partner of the United States. It is because money and profit are the gods of this world.

The East European nation of Yugoslavia likewise never posed any kind of imminent military threat to the American people. Yet for seventy-eight dreadful days, under the leadership of American President Bill Clinton, the United States military mercilessly pounded that nation into submission and Belgrade was left in ruins. Furthermore, Slobodan Milosevic, who was the leader of that nation, was ultimately deposed -- forced to resign -- dragged to the UN's International Criminal Court in The Hague and imprisoned. He eventually died in his cell of poor health -- he had a heart condition -- after trying to defend himself for five years. The Tribunal refused to take responsibility for Milosevic's death.

Sadly, this tale of America's thirst for war and destruction does not end here. As many American citizens -- and the world -- now realize, contrary to the outright lies and deceptions which were knowingly and foolishly promoted by the George W. Bush administration regarding WMD, and the alleged threat of mushroom clouds over America, the country of Iraq likewise never posed an imminent military threat to the United States, or a danger to the American people. Yet, despite this obvious fact, for the past fifteen years, the US government has waged an on-and-off war in that nation, which has resulted in the death and suffering of many thousands of American and Iraqi citizens. Furthermore, even to this current day, Iraq still has not fully recovered from the widespread damage which was inflicted by America's aerial blitzkrieg at the beginning of that illegal war.

While America's war in that country has been declared over, and while most US soldiers left Iraq by December of 2011, in accordance with the U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, as many of you will know, with the rise of the Islamic State, the American military intervened in Iraq once again in 2014. While the Islamic State has now been declared defeated in both Iraq and Syria, it is my understanding that there are still an undetermined number of American troops in Iraq, who supposedly serve as "advisors".

Furthermore, Iraq still remains politically unstable with a lot of infighting occurring between the different political factions. The latest news at this time is that the coalition of radical, anti-American Shi'ite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, has emerged as the frontrunner in Iraq's national elections. During the height of the war, al-Sadr's "Mahdi Army" engaged in violent conflicts against American troops. Since the 2003 start of the war, al-Sadr has protested America's presence in his nation.

As if all of this war and destruction wasn't already enough, even with the election of a Democratic president -- Barack Hussein Obama -- in 2008, the United States continued to wage war in Iraq for another three years until 2011. But that is not all. Obama increased troop levels in Afghanistan, and he went after Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, in Pakistan; who was eventually, and supposedly, killed by US Special Forces. But Obama's warmongering did not end there. He also ordered military involvement in the North African nation of Libya. As a result, Libya's strongman leader, Muammar el-Gaddafi, was killed by NATO-assisted forces. Now, Libya is in a mess, just as Iraq is in a mess. This is what America leaves behind when it wages war in another nation.

While all of this was going on, the USA also continued with its practice of demonizing Iran, Syria and North Korea; even though none of those nations pose any kind of direct military threat to the continental United States. As many of you will know, while a deal was eventually reached with Iran so that it would desist in its alleged pursuit of a nuclear weapon, now President Trump wants to scrap that deal, which he views as being lopsided and weak. We have already discussed Syria. Despite America's best efforts to dethrone the man, Bashar al-Assad still remains in power. We likewise also discussed North Korea. Soon enough, we will know who is playing who in that political game.

Clearly then, continual war has been America's modus operandi for decades, just as King David wrote. And why has this been? Is it truly because the American people have been threatened by a foreign military invasion? No; it's just because America wants certain things from other countries, whether it is some natural resource, or a strategic location, or maybe a puppet government which will do America's bidding. As I said before, the United States will fight tooth and nail in order to get what it wants. In writing about some problems which existed during his own time, the Apostle James penned the following enlightening words:

"From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."


So what we see then is that by and large, most wars result from some form of greed. Another nation has something that you want, and so you attempt to grab it from them by using brute force -- war!

When all things are considered, we see that America has waged war after war during the past sixty+ years, when the American populace has never been under any kind of imminent military threat from the aforementioned countries. Furthermore, as of this writing, there is currently no serious foreign military threat against the American people; yet America still finds itself engaged in war, with no end in sight to this terrible cycle. So as I said, America just loves to pick fights. It is not a nation of peace as it likes to claim. It does not know how to get along peacefully with all of its global neighbors. It only knows how to bully them, antagonize them, and in some cases, take from them whatever it wants. It is as if America is drunk on, and addicted to, its wars. It doesn't seem to be able to exist unless it is engaged in a war somewhere in the world. Most nations of the world want to live in peace; but when they look at America, like King David, some of them must surely think to themselves:

"I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war."


So one must ask himself, what have all of these wars over the past sixty+ years really been about? What have been the real motivations behind them? If they haven't really been about protecting the American people from an imminent threat from some foreign power, why have they been fought at all?

Now obviously, I realize that this article is going to ruffle a lot of feathers; particularly American feathers. To be more specific, it will no doubt ruffle the feathers of people who view themselves as patriotic, red, white and blue Americans. Now before you folks start to jump all over me, I want to ask you a question; and I hope that you will have the integrity to answer the question honestly. Tell me. In your opinion, what was the last war that the United States was engaged in, which was truly fought to protect the American people against an imminent foreign military threat? Your honest answer to this question alone will say a lot, and hopefully show you a lot. That is, if you are truly honest with yourself.

For those of you who are in the American military, allow me to inform you that I already realize that I will never change your opinion regarding this issue. Why? Because for you to do so, would force you to admit that a portion of your life, and the choices that you have made, have been a mistake. Thus, you are forced to defend your position no matter what. In short, to agree with me would be to admit that you have been living a lie; and I seriously doubt that most of you are capable of facing that truth, because you have been brainwashed to see things through military eyes. Your so-called patriotism has blinded you to the truth.

Please go to part two for the conclusion of this article.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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