1. World problems
  2. Escalation of war

Escalation of war

  • Escalation of local wars

Claim

There has been a significant war approximately every 30 years, often initiated (overtly or covertly) by the USA, and more often than not sparking a further expansion of US power and US-based elite interests. Whilst such aggression is not particularly unusual among nations; what is different is the propaganda mythology that successfully defined the US as always acting in defense of "freedom and democracy." Again and again, the use of outrage-incidents triggered the war spirit, and channeled the resulting wrath toward the nominated enemy. It concentrated power in the executive branch, where elite control was (and is) usually most undiluted by popular influence. This process is exemplified by the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which enabled full-scale US military involvement in Vietnam. The incident itself was faked, but Congress promptly issued its usual knee-jerk resolution, authorizing the president to "act in defense." The "authorized actions" were then incrementally escalated into a full-scale war, with Congress having minimal additional influence and popular will finding expression only in the streets. Even when the hoax was exposed, it was too late to put the genie back in the bottle.

Broader

Aggravated by

Related

Undeclared war
Unpresentable

Strategy

Feigning outrage
Yet to rate

Value

War
Yet to rate
Nonlocal
Yet to rate
Escalation
Yet to rate

SDG

Sustainable Development Goal #1: No PovertySustainable Development Goal #2: Zero HungerSustainable Development Goal #6: Clean Water and SanitationSustainable Development Goal #13: Climate ActionSustainable Development Goal #16: Peace and Justice Strong InstitutionsSustainable Development Goal #17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

Metadata

Database
World problems
Type
(E) Emanations of other problems
Biological classification
N/A
Subject
  • Defence » War
  • Society » Local
  • Content quality
    Unpresentable
     Unpresentable
    Language
    English
    1A4N
    U3149
    DOCID
    13131490
    D7NID
    142553
    Last update
    May 19, 2022