Nationalismen och militarismen ligger aldrig långt under ytan i USA. När president Obama höll tal under valrörelsen så avslutade han dom vanligtvis med “må Gud Välsigna Förenta Staterna”, och den amerikanska militären, världens största, höjs vanligtvis till skyarna som idealistiska självuppoffrande och okorrumperade; amerikanska krig och ockupationer anses som befrielserörelser där USA helt saknar egenintresse. Pentagons hemsidor fylls av bilder av tungt beväpnade amerikanska ockupationssoldater som lämnar ut godis till beundrande småbarn.

Men alla håller inte riktigt med om den Sörgårdsaktiga bilden av den amerikanska krigsmakten, världens största.

Aaron B O’Connell skriver i New York Times om hur det militariserade USA; något som President Eisenhower varnade för redan i blrjan av 1960-talet: The Permanent Militarization of America

… Eisenhower’s least heeded warning — concerning the spiritual effects of permanent preparations for war — is more important now than ever. Our culture has militarized considerably since Eisenhower’s era, and civilians, not the armed services, have been the principal cause. From lawmakers’ constant use of “support our troops” to justify defense spending, to TV programs and video games like “NCIS,” “Homeland” and “Call of Duty,” to NBC’s shameful and unreal reality show “Stars Earn Stripes,” Americans are subjected to a daily diet of stories that valorize the military while the storytellers pursue their own opportunistic political and commercial agendas. Of course, veterans should be thanked for serving their country, as should police officers, emergency workers and teachers. But no institution — particularly one financed by the taxpayers — should be immune from thoughtful criticism.

Och nu kommer den verkliga chocken, USA:s största krigshjälte sedan Andra Världskriget, General David Petraeus, senast CIA-chef, har tvingats avgå efter att ha vänstrat med Paula Broadwell, en 20 år yngre kvinna som i sin tur har hotat Jill Kelley, som arbetar i State Department, och som har ett okänt förhållande till den Petraeus. Kelley blev så skakad över hoten i Broadwells mejl, att hon kontaktade FBI, som kollade mejlen och på det sättet upptäckte Petraeus roll i det här smaskiga triangeldramat som snabbt har fyllt den amerikanska pressen.

Brian Knowlton skriver i New York Times: Lawmakers Question F.B.I. Handling of Petraeus Affair

Lawmakers with authority over intelligence and national security expressed consternation on Sunday that the F.B.I. investigation that led to the resignation of David Petraeus as director of central intelligence could have been conducted without the knowledge of officials in the White House or Congress. They also voiced puzzlement that it came to a head within hours of President Obama’s re-election.

Samtidigt höjs nu försiktiga röster över den veritable kult som omgav general Petraeus, en kult som han själv odlade med stor beslutsamhet:
How I Was Drawn Into the Cult of David Petraeus

But by the time President Obama tapped Petraeus to run the Afghanistan war in 2010, something had changed. Petraeus’ mouth was saying “counterinsurgency,” with its focus on protecting civilians from violence, but in practice, he was far more reliant on air strikes and commando raids. He was even touting enemy body counts as measurements of success, which was completely antithetical to counterinsurgency doctrine, and his staff’s insistance that nothing had changed sounded hollow.

But then there was Broadwell to spin the shift away. On Ricks’ blog, she described the complete flattening of a southern Afghan village called Tarok Kolache, confidently asserting that not only was no one killed under 25 tons of U.S. air and artillery strikes, but that the locals appreciated it. Danger Room’s follow-up reporting found that the strikes were even more intense: two other villages that the Taliban had riddled with bombs, were destroyed as well.

Efter Lance Armstrong-skandalen faller nu alltså ännu en amerikansk superhjälte. Frågan nu är om amerikanerna kommer att fortsätta att tro på sin egen förträfflighet, och på superhjältar överhuvudtaget.

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