Israel, Iran, US, NATO, Russia - Nuclear War? Is Washington Deaf As Well as Criminal?

[Jan Klimkowski]

I know the military is not monolithic in either country. While there certainly exist the Curtis Le Mays and Dr Strangeloves in both countries not everyone is suicidal and there also exist pockets of sanity with in the beast. Will they be in positions to stop or direct events once in train? I don't really know but sure hope so. We have seen evidence of their work in the past (Minot AB comes to mind). Israel has the most to lose casualty and territorially speaking since they are in the middle of the bee hive and it is an all or nothing gamble. Are they feeling lucky? The USA is a whole continent and ocean away and may feel they have more options and can always choose isolationism. Which would be quite a relief to many where they are unwelcome and so much of the problem. It was the wrong set of dominoes they were worried about before.....

Magda - I agree.

However, a "Soldier of Principle" tends to make perfect cannon fodder and is usually considered far too dangerous to consider for promotion to the highest ranks.

The Command structure, Rank Rules, means that multi-starred epaulettes are usually required for fundamental decision-making, and the miltary doesn't want Honour and Moral Conscience getting in way of Business As Usual.

Four-star generals may consipire to kill a President. But they're usually too self-obsessed to risk blowing the whistle.

A rare exception appears to be Chair of the Joint Chief of Staff, Admiral Thomas Moorer, who told the truth both on the USS Liberty and Tailwind war crimes, and was discredited and marginalised as a result.