Ep. 5503 – William Arkin: Why America Can’t End its ‘Forever Wars’ – 4/16/21

William Arkin discusses the changing nature of America’s military, specifically the way that operations have shifted away from traditional “boots on the ground” and toward drone strikes, special forces, civilian contractors and intelligence analysts. In fact, for every soldier on the ground in the Middle East today, Arkin estimates that there are at least one hundred other people around the world to support that soldier. This has led to a Faustian bargain for the American people: the number of American troops getting killed and injured overseas is relatively low—on the other hand, this hugely built-up military complex makes it almost impossible to unwind any of our country’s forever wars. In the latest case of Biden’s supposed withdrawal from Afghanistan, Arkin thinks that this, too, is mostly theater: even if all “combat troops” come home, the U.S. will stay heavily involved in Afghanistan in other ways for years and years to come.

Check out the interview page here: https://scotthorton.org/interviews/4-16-21-william-arkin-why-america-cant-end-its-forever-wars/

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