America is a nation founded by revolutionary war, scarred by civil war, aggrandized by regional imperial war, and enriched by two global wars. We mask this devotion to war by using the euphemistic model of “defending our security.” Our Seizure of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Phillipines, and even Guantanamo was done to “defend” out interests, but, by jingo, we relished the conquests.
Fast forward to the campaign of Hillary Clinton, and we see that the American appetite for war remains undiminished, even after long, grinding, costly, and hugely destructive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Clinton is openly campaigning on an aggressive military posture that is very likely to result in renewed large-scale commitment of US military forces overseas. She promises a vigorous military response to any (real or imagined) nuclear treaty violations by Iran. She promises to unconditionally back Israel in any armed struggle, and she is on record as advocating the bombing of the Assad government’s forces in Syria as a good move to protect Israel. Territory disputes in Ukraine and the South China sea also give her good opportunities for “force projection.”
At first I thought that the reluctance of HRC partisans on DKos to discuss Clinton’s warkhawk issues was attributable to their avoidance of flaws in Hillary’s political positions, but now I have come to believe that there is a deeper evasion taking place. Democrats don’t want to acknowledge their appetite for US military adventures. Anti-war Democrats have a fantasy of the Democratic party as the party of peace, but a majority of Democratic party voters are just as delighted with the drone camera footage and shock and awe TV coverage as their Republican neighbors. This is what HRC understands, and this is the basis of her bellicose positions. She is going to give the war lovers what they are ashamed to ask for.
Clinton has openly repudiated Obama’s dictum of “Don’t do stupid shit,” claiming that this is an insufficient guide to exercising America’s global responsibilities. A simpler view is that she is promising to do stupid shit, and her supporters are eager to watch the action.