Gin

Boy howdy, has it been a long time since we've done one of these. If you recognize the format of that title you are officially OG Gin and Tacos. Well done. I laud your staying power. It takes a lot to motivate me to resurrect something like this given all the other stuff I have going on now (Of note, my book manuscript is now complete and will ente... r the Heavy Editing process shortly. Huzzah.) but the coverage of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan simply drove me to it. I had no other choice. Before we get into any specifics note that 1) ending the war is popular. Very popular. The only people with whom it is unpopular are right-wing assholes who would be thrilled and giving the move A+++ ratings if Trump had done it and 2) the "NatSec pundit" universe that absolutely dominates media coverage of foreign policy stuff beyond any reasonable proportion to their importance or numbers. It doesn't exactly take a Marx-pilled cynic to realize that Forever War is a massive gravy train of federal dollars for think tanks, "independent contractors / analysts," and the war industry in general. Of the top 100 federal government contractors , it's difficult to find one that *isn't* directly servicing the Pentagon. Simply put, these people see and will always see military action as the only acceptable outcome in any situation because that is what they are paid to see. Mainstream journalists (CNN's Jim Scuitto is a real good example) with close contacts in military and "NatSec" circles function as an extension of that worldview. These people collectively see the US military the way a Michael Bay movie does. It's adolescent boy stuff. Notably, Biden is sticking to his guns. The ghoul-industrial complex is throwing every trick it knows at trying to build consensus in favor of going back in, or staying, or *something* that keeps the US military engaged in Afghanistan forever, and none of it seems to be working. As David Roth tweeted recently, they're like lab animals mashing a button to receive a treat but this time ...Read More