The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012

This was mentioned in an article in the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1215613,00.html) found in another thread, about something entirely different subject and since I googled up some info on it, I thought I'd give it its own thread, for your reading pleasure:

The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012
CHARLES J. DUNLAP, JR.

From Parameters, Winter 1992-93, pp. 2-20.

The letter that follows takes us on a darkly imagined excursion into the future. A military coup has taken place in the United States--the year is 2012--and General Thomas E. T. Brutus, Commander-in-Chief of the Unified Armed Forces of the United States, now occupies the White House as permanent Military Plenipotentiary. His position has been ratified by a national referendum, though scattered disorders still prevail and arrests for acts of sedition are underway. A senior retired officer of the Unified Armed Forces, known here simply as Prisoner 222305759, is one of those arrested, having been convicted by court-martial for opposing the coup. Prior to his execution, he is able to smuggle out of prison a letter to an old War College classmate discussing the "Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012." In it, he argues that the coup was the outgrowth of trends visible as far back as 1992. These trends were the massive diversion of military forces to civilian uses, the monolithic unification of the armed forces, and the insularity of the military community. His letter survives and is here presented verbatim.

The full "essay" (actually, sort of a speculative fiction piece) is here: http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/1992/dunlap.htm

And a little more interesting background on the author: He's now a Brigadier General in the Air Force, serving as the Staff Judge Advocate, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va.

http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=5293

And the Freepers hate him, due to an article he wrote about the Kosovo war http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a39cba85669fb.htm

The place I saw it starts with this:

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." John Adams

Fascinating stuff, really. I wonder what Dunlap is thinking today?

Six National Guard soldiers from a West Virginia unit who treated Abu Ghraib as a playpen of pornographic torture have been designated as scapegoats. Will the show trials of these working-class antiheroes put an end to any inquiries about the chain of command? In an extraordinary editorial, the Army Times, which had not previously ventured into such controversy, declared that "the folks in the Pentagon are talking about the wrong morons ... This was not just a failure of leadership at the local command level. This was a failure that ran straight to the top. Accountabilty here is essential - even if that means relieving leaders from duty in a time of war."

William Odom, a retired general and former member of the National Security Council who is now at the Hudson Institute, a conservative thinktank, reflects a wide swath of opinion in the upper ranks of the military. "It was never in our interest to go into Iraq," he told me. It is a "diversion" from the war on terrorism; the rationale for the Iraq war (finding WMD) is "phoney"; the US army is overstretched and being driven "into the ground"; and the prospect of building a democracy is "zero". In Iraqi politics, he says, "legitimacy is going to be tied to expelling us. Wisdom in military affairs dictates withdrawal in this situation. We can't afford to fail, that's mindless. The issue is how we stop failing more. I am arguing a strategic decision."

One high-level military strategist told me that Rumsfeld is "detested", and that "if there's a sentiment in the army it is: Support Our Troops, Impeach Rumsfeld".
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Can't leave out the best part! :) (all emphasis mine)