Rumors of War

 

Rumor of War

I have heard Rumors of War from Matthew 24:6 for several decades. I have never heard anyone explain what that means. That does not mean a good explanation does not exist, only that I am not aware of it. When I would hear someone read that verse I would wonder what it meant, then lose interest and move on to something else.

Recently it was elevated to rabbit hole status and I started pondering what I have read about war and what a rumor of war might mean.

I was raised by Jack, my stepfather to be patriotic and support our military. His service during World War Two and then for 24 years after in the Navy were commendable and inspiring. There were people I came into contact with because of Jack that impressed me with what can be accomplished when
someone in the military puts service above self. I still feel strongly that those like my cousin Larry a Marine killed in combat in Vietnam are some of the finest people in our country. 

 

As I studied the Vietnam War, trying to make sense of Larry’s sacrifice I found things that bothered me. I have continued to read and study. Most of us have heard or if you are lucky to have seen President Eisenhower give the speech where he warned about the military industrial complex. How many of us have examined what he was talking about? 

Recently I read War is a Racket by Major General Smedley D. Butler. He had a great career earning the Congressional Medal of Honor twice. He served for 34 years in several wars. He also had time as a governor in islands in the Caribbean. At the end of his time as a Marine he was approached by a group of business men who were planning a coup to replace President Franklin Roosevelt. They wanted him to become the de facto president. When he reported what and happened he was ridiculed. He left the military. A House of Representatives committee was convened and some of his claims were proven. He then wrote “War is a Racket” in 1935 painting a picture that was in line with what President Eisenhower said about the military industrial complex. 

So far nothing connects to Rumors of War does it?

Eisenhower was trying to tell us that there was a complex in our country that wanted us at war for their own profit. General Butler had said something similar.  

What takes us into war? In 1898 it was the Battleship Maine blowing up in Havana Harbor. The war cry to go to war to avenge the sailors of the Maine who were attacked was strong enough to bring on the Spanish American War. The mast of the Maine is at Arlington National Cemetery not far from the monument to the Challenger astronauts and Audie Murphy’s grave. People have been looking at the evidence of the Maine explosion for 125 years and it looks like the Cubans had nothing to do with sinking the Maine. But it did take us into war. If you have the time look into what the USA got from that war.

In 1917 there was a cable from Germany to Mexico that was intercepted by the British. It proposed Mexico attacking our southern border to keep us occupied and out of World War One. That telegram was enough to carry us into war with Germany. It’s not necessarily a rumor of war but it has that feel of it to me.

In 1964 the Gulf of Tonkin incident carried us into the Vietnam War. The majority of what was reported has been found to be false but it gave President Johnson an excuse for war with Vietnam, where his family became wealth through the arms business.

Weapons of mass destruction were used to justify the War on Terror or as some deride, the Forever Wars. For years I refused to believe that our government could use the false rumor of weapons of mass destruction to bring us into war it the Middle East. The hardest part for me is to realize where I have been gullible in believing what I now think are “Rumors of Wars”

The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was something that might not have been perceived by anyone else, which also makes it suspect. President Trump has 30 to 40 percent of our country who have a great disdain for him. There is constant negative press coverage, however when he authorized bombing Iran, President Trump was praised by everyone. He had a couple of days where no one seemed to be insulting him, or reporting negatively about him. It felt like he was doing what the military industrial complex wanted him to do and he received a break from negative press. Was someone looking for a Pavlovian response? Why did he authorize force? Israel who I support has been reporting for years that Iran is 90 days from having nuclear arms. How many years can you say something is going to happen within the next 90 days before you lose all credibility? Is Iran being on the verge of being a nuclear power simply a Rumor of War?

I am beginning to believe that the reference in Matthew 24:6, Rumors of War, refers to the lies and rumors that are used to take us into war.