Television is used to keep us "up-to-date" on the current situation. Many times the information is incomplete, very biased and at times completely fabricated. 

The psyop unit of the Military produces information designed to condition the population to be favorable and pliable to military conflict to resolve situations. The media uses these reports for their content. 

The country's leaders appear in the media to sell the idea of war to the public and justify it as a solution. Creating an atmosphere of hatred for another country. Many times the leaders of these other countries have or have had extensive ties to the intelligence, and other branches of the US Government. 

War is not a solution.

War is being delivered into the lives of the world's population on a 24/7 basis when a conflict exists. Its become a form of entertainment or almost a sport with a home team to root for and a "sideline" reporter imbedded in with the troops fighting the battle.

There are plenty of eager ex high-ranking military personnel to make color commentary on the action and try and analyze the next move by either side.

This is a multi-media event with complementary websites and streaming news and updates with graphics of the bombing or mayhem as an active backdrop.

All this, delivered in the standard news anchor's drawling monotone voice and constant repetition of the events, make for a hypnotic experience. You tend to sit there and find out nothing new for hours at a time while the show drones on.

The amount of money the world governments spend on "defense", war related preparations and technology is astronomical. The United States 2002 defense appropriation was the largest single budget item. Defense accounted for 52% of discretionary spending. That's $349 billion. Russia spent $94 billion, China $17 billion.

We are spending a higher percentage now than we did at the height of the cold war. The defense budget is also slated to rise, into the next decade. 

Is this spending supposed to defend us from another country? If so who? If not, what? 

Militarism is not the way out of the problems the world's populations face. These hundreds of billions could make a huge dent in these problems if rationally allocated.

The Department of Defense continues to spend extravagant amounts of money on new military technology. Despite the fact that there are no other "superpowers" to defend ourselves from. Most other countries are literally decades behind in war technology. Our allies buy what they can in the way of new technology from us. 

Billions are being spent to upgrade the army, design and build new high-tech missile systems and bring a new generation fighter jet on line. 

A new generation of spy satellites is being developed that will be equipped with powerful telescopes that will be able to collect images in darkness and through cloud cover. This project, like most new defense department projects, is billions over the original budget. 

Harlan Ullman defines Shock and Awe (in his words) "deter and overpower an adversary through the adversary's perception and fear of his vulnerability and our own invincibility. This ability to impose massive shock and awe, in essence to be able to 'turn the lights on and off' of an adversary as we choose, will so overload the perception, knowledge and understanding of that adversary that there will be no choice except to cease and desist or risk complete and total destruction."

Webster's dictionary defines terrorism as "a mode of governing, or of opposing government, by intimidation."

Is it any wonder the recently "liberated" country expresses its resentment by continued suicide attacks and demands that the aggressor gets out of their country immediately? 

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the government's actions has been its attack on the Bill of Rights, the very cornerstone of our American democracy. The War on Terror has seriously compromised the First, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights of citizens and non-citizens alike. From the USA PATRIOT Act's over-broad definition of domestic terrorism, to the FBI's new powers of search and surveillance, to the indefinite detention of both citizens and non-citizens without formal charges, the principles of free speech, due process and equal protection under the law have been seriously undermined.

This country was founding on freedom of, among other things, expression. And throwing off the yoke of tyranny was one of its finest moments. Handing any of that freedom back due to a few psychotic criminal's horrendous acts is a mistake.

Depleted Uranium (DU) is being used in ammunition for several reasons. One is that there is so much of it left over from nuclear programs that it is being given away free to arms manufacturers. So it is being disposed of on battlefields and target ranges around the world. It also has tremendous armor piercing characteristics. When it strikes the target it burns and penetrates the armor. While it burns it forms a fine aerosol that is readily ingested into the human body and carried on the wind for miles. Once in the body, DU slowly spreads from the lungs, mainly into the lymph nodes and bone. Excretion from the body is very slow. 

DU is being looked at as the cause of cancer, birth defects and gulf war syndrome in the soldiers and civilians involved in conflicts were DU was used. With DU in the environment these health risks will be around for a long, long time. 

In the US, congress is considering relaxing the strict rules that prevent the CIA from carrying out assassinations. The ban on assassinations followed a series of highly critical Congressional hearings during the 1970s into CIA assassination attempts and "dirty tricks".

Former president George Bush, who was once CIA director, spoke of the need to "free up the intelligence system from some of its constraints".

The Indonesian army chief, General Endriartono Sutarto, confirmed in Jakarta that West Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay was assassinated by Indonesian Army units after he was kidnapped last November 11. The assassins were members of KOPASSUS, a special operations unit trained by U.S. Special Forces and CIA personnel and was involved in massacres in East Timor during the Indonesian occupation of that country.

The technology being developed and implemented is, on the one hand, making it safer for the soldier. There are fewer friendly casualties and fewer troops put directly in harms way. Compared to the tens of thousands lost in Vietnam and the millions lost in a WWII, war is a lot safer for our side. 

On the other hand it may be a lot easier to push a button from sixty thousand feet or several thousand miles away and not have to really look at the consequences or your act. These technological advances take the confront out of having to "see the whites of their eyes" before killing someone. 

The military is pushing and spending heavily in this direction. 

Also billions are being spent on systems to watch and track ground activities in cities. There has been serious discussion about putting weapons in space. 

At this site you can shop online for laser targeting systems.

The spread of sophisticated technologies, especially "smart" weapons and ballistic missiles, signals the increasingly dangerous, complex, and deadly nature of local violence. Sophisticated technology will not necessarily prevail in conflicts that occur in the next decade, and when it does, it may be in the hands of a local power instead of an intervening superpower. 

It's past the time to set aside militarism as a way of life on earth. These weapons, mixed with technology, only lead down a path of destruction in the wrong hands. Expanding military budgets and frequent wars indicate that things are in the wrong hands. The vast majority of the population has no use for or interest in having themselves, family members and friends, or other innocents being churned up in some insane war. 

"Strategic psychological operations advance broad or long-term objectives. Global in nature, they may be directed toward large audiences or at key communicators.

PSYOP troops accomplish their mission by disseminating propaganda messages in the form of leaflets, posters, broadcasts and audio-visual tapes. Persuading rather than compelling physically, they rely on logic, fear, desire or other mental factors to promote specific emotions, attitudes or behaviors. The ultimate objective of U.S. military psychological operations and civil affairs is to convince enemy, neutral, and friendly nations and forces to take action favorable to the United States and its allies."

The above paragraphs are taken from the U.S. Army Psyop web page. Are we being led down a path of growing militarism?