The Near Future War

This title is narrated with virtual voice, computer-generated narration for audiobooks. The Near Future War by J.P. Thomas Tu Introduction A few important issues. This is not a manifesto and I am not sitting in a cabin somewhere typing by candlelight. This is a short book by a retired military strategist about the American government's unconstitutional use of military power and our nation's addiction to war. The diagnosis and recommendations are controversial but are intended to spark discussion and hopefully create change. Next, it should be clear that this book is the product of my professional judgment based on three decades of military experience and a lifelong study of history. I understand that the near-term focus of my argument means some of the issues that are discussed here may soon be overcome by events, but that is okay. It is my greatest hope that we can make most of these issues irrelevant, especially when it comes to the next conflict. Why does a near-term perspective matter? It matters because the lives of today's young Americans are at risk. I cannot emphasize this point strongly enough. These are the kids who are currently in grade school or high school and who have no idea that the nation's old and out-of-date political and military leaders are eagerly awaiting their arrival on the scene, not to be students, scientists, engineers, or to make the world a better place, but so that they can fill the military's ranks and go to war. This is obscene. From my perspective, the worst thing about this impending war is that it will start automatically. A violent incident will happen somewhere around the globe and the president will order the military to respond in support of a treaty or other foreign policy commitment that was made by politicians who are long gone and which is based on a world that doesn't exist anymore. None of the American kids who die in this near-future war will have been alive when this policy was crafted, and in many cases, neither were their parents. This won't matter. We will just go to war. We have grown so accustomed to marching to battle when the president tells us that it is necessary that we won't consider for a moment that this isn't even close to what the Constitution allows. Who am I? First of all, yes, I am an American. I am an old military strategist, a retired combat veteran, and a bit of an idealist, a somewhat typical mix for a later-in-life book such as this one. I have gone back and forth about using my real name in this book, but in a world that is so full of trolls, I decided that I wouldn't. I am not a politician and do not intend to open myself up for public exposure. Unlike a lot of people these days, I value my privacy. Anyway, the use of a pseudonym was common in the 18th century when our founding fathers were writing politically inflammatory material, so it seems to me that it should be good enough for me today. For those who want to know what my political affiliation is, I am not going to share it, aside from what I share on these pages. Treat this book as an American, not a partisan. This is not a work of paranoia or conspiracy theory, and I am not a fortune teller. I am a military strategist, and this is essentially a work of future history, if I may borrow a term from Asimov. I believe that if you are paying any attention to current events, you will see the same symptoms that I do. You might have a different hypothesis about both the cause and the effect, but the symptoms are clear. Furthermore, none of the issues that lie at the heart of my arguments are unique when viewed from across the wide range of human experience. As it is often said, history rhymes. The social challenges created by pride, power, and greed have been around since the beginning of time. However, in the United States, these issues and their political implications are supercharged by today's angry social media climate. We are being herded into a massive war by a cynical few. A quick thought about the unique circumstances in which this argument takes place. I will admit that I am absolutely baffled by what social media is doing to our society. It often seems to me that as a nation we have all but abandoned critical thinking. Social media taps directly into our fear, anger, and hate. It brings the worst of our emotions to the surface of our lives and gives us a place to complain about the essential unfairness of the universe. As I see it, social media has brought us to the verge of mob rule, and when that mob is nearly 340 million strong, it develops a tremendous amount of momentum that can be exceptionally difficult to resist. Historically, nothing good has ever come from a population that has been stirred into such an angry state, and it is my belief that the near certain outcome...