| Though Washington officials and military generals said the American people and the four fallen soldiers’ families deserve answers about a deadly ambush in the African nation of Niger, the answer is already hidden in plain sight. (1) To be sure, and from other disastrous raids like Yemen, or even major military engagements such as Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, there’s an obvious history of how the Deep State’s internal wars over absolute power and money is compromising U.S. troops. Moreover, has its dubious characters, ongoing incompetence, and maladaptive nature become more of a hindrance to its survival than a benefit, which includes the very nation in which it’s evolved? Beware of Sudden Calls During Low Risk, Under Gunned Missions Like the Yemen raid, which also seemed promising but was purposively compromised to damage a newly elected president, 12 U.S. forces accompanying 30 Niger soldiers- during a “low risk” and “under gunned” reconnaissance patrol-appeared to be a capable mission. But while returning to their base after having arrived at the target location to find nothing, a sudden call ordered them to turn back to a nearby village for a “high-value” ISIS target. When a village elder tried to stall them as long as possible, the unit suspected something and left. Indeed, they had only gone a few hundred yards when they were trapped in a deadly ambush of heavy machine guns, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades. Deep State Uses Complicit Media and “Data Power” to Rule The Deep State turned the story into a public feud over President Trump’s condolence call to Myeshia Johnson, the widow of U.S. Army Sgt. La David Johnson who was killed. At issue was the president forgetting her dead husband’s name, and for saying “He knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurts.” But do soldiers really know what they’re signing up for, or who they really serve? Indeed, computer technologies can now predict future terrorist attacks and ambushes with great accuracy. Yet, Deep State actors battle for “data power.” They base their estimates on more funding, manipulating a gullible public, or keeping a leader in power. In other words, the Deep State rules through information. Sacrificing Troops in the Name of Blood Money Just as there was no failure of imagination to connect the dots on Sept. 11, except for the failure in moral character and integrity, local and foreign banks are a vital cog in the Deep State’s economic warfare machinery. The Panama Papers in fact told how Wall Street investors and Niger’s National Assembly joined in money laundering schemes worth billions of dollars. Both used large cash withdraws to not only arm and train rebels factions for oil and uranium ore kickbacks, but funded a brutal drug war which included ISIS and Boko Haram.(2) Since the Deep State’s money spent on overseas contracts gets recycled into campaign contributions, post government careers beckon to many officials. Dubious Characters Equals More Endless Wars and Sacrificial Soldiers After the Ambush in Niger, few noticed how AFRICOM cashed in on the tragedy or how President Trump, definitely a man under Deep State Pressure, is now seeking to eliminate government spending caps to boost defense spending. To be sure, AFRICOM is already blaming the attack on a lack of funds. What’s more, the U.S.-led military organization, which conducts combat missions in 35 African nations, has requested an huge increase. But few questions are being asked about why the U.S. is even in Niger, or if officials investigating the deadly ambush plan to focus on a solution that will lead to withdrawing all U.S. troops. And then there’s always the likelihood of more blowback. Deep State’s Maladaptive Behavior… Given the Deep State knows no limits when it comes to global wars, or that competence is less important than boundless egoism and a startling lack of reflection, the Deep State is in maladaptive overdrive. To be sure, wars like Vietnam and Iraq might have been objectively wrong-and even useless, but they were an astute career move for many politicians, military personnel, state operatives, and Wall Street contractors. (The same can be said of the more lengthy wars like Afghanistan or attempted regime changes such as Syria.) As a result, the Deep State is optimized to achieve power, money, career security for its major players, and a preservation of the status quo-a bloody one at that. …Can Lead to Extinction But even nature revolts at hubristic incompetence and psychopathic tendencies. Endless examples of species whose traits evolved such that they become maladaptive and unsuitable are unlimited. Consequently, has Washington, Wall Street, and the Military-Corporate Complex’s privileged position in society and cost-is-no object mentality, along with its rigid and bureaucratized hierarchy, made it a less effective force in accomplishing its overriding purpose: fighting and winning wars?(3) In seeing the world as an arena for achieving power and glory rather than as a place for pragmatic problem solving, will it moreover implode, destroying the very nation it’s spent compromising and sacrificing? Hidden in Plain Site-For Those What Want to See If the Deep State is an institution that’s hid in plain sight, so too are its countless officials, military generals, intelligence operatives, and contractors have. In addition to a history of disastrous national security policies for their ill-gotten gain, when blowback does occur from repeated military interventions it’s never a time to re-evaluate but to push forward-like Niger, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam of course. Together with an addiction to absolute power, maintaining a cash flow to contractors, offering officials a second careers in industry, and an imperviousness towards accountability, the Deep State knows no limits when it comes to “defending” the U.S.-including sacrificing its soldiers. Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John‘s Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.worldnews.com. You can read more of Dallas’ writings at www.beverlydarling.com and wn.com//dallasdarling.) (1) www.commondreams.org. “Sen. Lindsay Graham Didn’t Know About Niger? He Should Read More Nick Turse and TomDispatch,” by John Queally. October 24, 2017. (2) www.premiumtimes.com. “Special Report: Inside the Massive Money Laundering in Nigeria’s National Assembly,” by Festus Owete, Joshua Olufemi and Richard Akinwumi. December 30, 2015. (3) Lofgren, Mike. The Deep State: The Fall Of The Constitution And The Rise Of A Shadow Government. New York, New York: Viking Press, 2016., pp. 264-265. |