Brilliant questions by retired Army Colonel and retired history/international relations BU professor Andrew Bacevich. These show not only what the media and politicians refuse to address, but likely what you seldom, and likely never, have considered.
Read the article here, or get the highlights by listening to the Tom Woods’ podcast, episode 819, here (where I first caught wind of it this morning). And here is Dr. Bacevich’s wikipedia page.
An excerpt from his intro to some basic, fundamental questions for the intellectually curious (or even those with viable brain activity) on the topic of the disaster of US foreign policy:
“Apart from a commendable determination to discomfit Trump and members of his inner circle (select military figures excepted, at least for now), journalism remains pretty much what it was prior to November 8th of last year: personalities built up only to be torn down; fads and novelties discovered, celebrated, then mocked; “extraordinary” stories of ordinary people granted 15 seconds of fame only to once again be consigned to oblivion—all served with a side dish of that day’s quota of suffering, devastation, and carnage. These remain journalism’s stock-in-trade. As practiced in the United States, with certain honorable (and hence unprofitable) exceptions, journalism remains superficial, voyeuristic, and governed by the attention span of a two year old.
“As a result, all those editors, reporters, columnists, and talking heads who characterize their labors as “now more important than ever” ill-serve the public they profess to inform and enlighten. Rather than clearing the air, they befog it further. If anything, the media’s current obsession with Donald Trump—his every utterance or tweet treated as “breaking news!”—just provides one additional excuse for highlighting trivia, while slighting issues that deserve far more attention than they currently receive.
“To illustrate the point, let me cite some examples of national security issues that presently receive short shrift or are ignored altogether by those parts of the Fourth Estate said to help set the nation’s political agenda. To put it another way: Hey, Big Media, here are two dozen matters to which you’re not giving faintly adequate thought and attention.”