Interesting fact about the United States of Amereca and War.

[c-rational]

Yesterday, the local gardener told me that the US has been at war for 222 years out of its 239 year history. I always knew we had a wartime economy, but this figure shook me. It needs IMO more play. We divert entirely too much 'capital' to war efforts. This also IMO benefits the corporations over the individual. Beware the military industrial complex.

[qazplm135]

1. War was a constant in the 1800s everywhere

and the 1900s for that matter.

[malaise]

2. Jimmy Carter said that recently

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/04/19/jimmy-carter-us-most-warlike-nation-in-history-of-the-world/
<snip>
During his regular Sunday school lesson at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, Jimmy Carter revealed that he had recently spoken with President Donald Trump about China. Carter, 94, said Trump was worried about China’s growing economy and expressed concern that “China is getting ahead of us.”

Carter, who normalized diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing in 1979, said he told Trump that much of China’s success was due to its peaceful foreign policy.

“Since 1979, do you know how many times China has been at war with anybody?” Carter asked.
“None, and we have stayed at war.” While it is true that China’s last major war — an invasion of Vietnam — occurred in 1979, its People’s Liberation Army pounded border regions of Vietnam with artillery and its navy battled its Vietnamese counterpart in the 1980s. Since then, however, China has been at peace with its neighbors and the world.

Carter then said the US has been at peace for only 16 of its 242 years as a nation. Counting wars, military attacks and military occupations, there have actually only been five years of peace in US history — 1976, the last year of the Gerald Ford administration and 1977-80, the entirety of Carter’s presidency. Carter then referred to the US as “the most warlike nation in the history of the world,” a result, he said, of the US forcing other countries to “adopt our American principles.”

[Wounded Bear]

3. It depends on how you define "war" but yeah, that's about right...

Basically the Indian Wars included the entire 1800's. Between the big wars of the 20th Century, there were numerous incursions into Central America "defending" American corporate "rights" to basically enslave the local economies there. The Phillipines had several hot insurrections from when we took them from Spain in 1900 until WWII.

Basically, we've always had our forces out there shooting at someone for our entire history.

[Mendocino]

4. Central America

The United Fruit Company...ugh!

[Wounded Bear]

5. A & P....

I haven't read a lot of Latin American authors and poets, but I've read some.

Our history there is not good.

[brush]

6. And occupations and coups and assassinations and overthrows and on and on.

[Wounded Bear]

7. And supporting our "corporate interests"...

don't forget that little canard.

[brush]

8. Yep, can't forget about "our" natural resources residing in those other countries.

[Wounded Bear]

9. I've often surmised that a big share of our "black ops" are hostage rescue missions...

for corporate officers taken in foreign, dangerous countries.

Just a feeling, you know? No hard evidence to back that, just a feeling.