The US Army War College’s autumn, quarterly issue “Parameters” featured a report entitled “Lessons from Ukraine for the Armed Forces of the Future”. It is the first in a series commissioned one year ago by the US Army Training and Doctrine Command. A small group of scholars were assigned to study the Ukraine-Russia conflict and to report on various areas. The UK has done something similar also. This first report calls for a policy of “partial conscription,” to make up for the losses projected to be incurred if and when the USA engages in full-scale industrial warfare, presumably with Russia. Projected losses in such conflict stand at 3,600 Americans per day, with 800 needed conscripts per day. Anyone interested in averting or avoiding war would do well to be aware of what scant solutions exist to such problems.
Today’s America echoes pre-WW2 Spain’s societal divisions. In the 1930s, Spain saw a republic overtaken by fascism. Today’s Ukraine is used to test future war-tech as Spain pre-WW2 was. NATO and the CIA test autonomous AI governance, Central Bank Digital Currency, and new weapons in Ukraine. Innovations like medivac robots and the Diaa app are trialed. Modern warfare methods such as underground and drone combat are being developed. Propaganda, and extreme censorship prevail. Ukraine limits free speech and accuses priests of espionage and citizens of “collaboration”. Reflecting on ancestral oppressions, such tyranny indicates a shift towards totalitarianism, challenging America’s foundational values.
To use humans as a means to some end, is immoral and unethical. There often is no solution to war, and avoiding problems is natural. So, while this article may not be able to provide a solution for after war breaks out, alerting people to be prepared, in what way they deem necessary, seems the proper course of action. The threat of global war has never been so real as now. Do not panic, but forming a plan to survive and protect loved ones seems pertinent.
In war, there is no further political solution, and so to avert war is imperative for anyone who would refuse to participate in it. Of course, America is not fully at war yet. As we sit on the verge of war, many believe the solution is to vote for one of two Presidential candidates “that can win.”They appear tricked into believing at least one republican and one democrat are anti-war or anti-establishment. They are not, and the evidence for this is mounting and obvious. I propose the libertarian solution is to first practice self-control, and take personal responsibility for your own actions, becoming an individual agent of change in the universe. Support candidates that represent you, rather than representing the investor and donor classes at your expense. Drive local, decentralized solutions for your household, and your town. Reject State and Federal politics, and the control of such administrations over your lives. Find ways to protect yourselves and reject all protection rackets. Find a way to live freely, in spite of the world.
Jongema lives in the Copper Country and is the secretary of the Upper Peninsula Libertarian Party.
