Can the World's Second Superpower Rise From the Ashes of 20 Years of War?

Details: Published on Monday, 17 February 2020 03:08; Written by editor

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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 2000 ... February 17, 2020
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Can the World’s Second Superpower Rise From the Ashes of 20 Years of War?

Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies

February 15 marked the day, 17 years ago, when global demonstrations against the pending Iraq invasion were so massive that the New York Times called world public opinion "the second superpower." But the US ignored it and invaded Iraq anyway. So what has become of the momentous hopes of that day?

The US military has not won a war since 1945, unless you count recovering the tiny colonial outposts of Grenada, Panama and Kuwait, but there is one threat it has consistently outmaneuvered without firing more than a few deadly rifle shots and some tear gas. Ironically, this existential threat is the very one that could peacefully cut it down to size and take away its most dangerous and expensive weapons: its own peace-loving citizens.

During the Vietnam War, young Americans facing a life-and-death draft lottery built a powerful anti-war movement. President Nixon proposed ending the draft as a way to undermine... the peace movement, since he believed that young people would stop protesting the war once they were no longer obligated to fight. In 1973, the draft was ended, leaving a volunteer army that insulated the vast majority of Americans from the deadly impact of America’s wars.