War Is a Racket by General Smedley D. Butler (1933)
this is extraordinary<p>i say this for several reasons. One, Smedley D Butler is one of perhaps just three former US Marines universally regarded as demi-gods (the other two are Sgt. Dan Daly and Gen. Chesty Puller). Their official photographs are everywhere, and statement alleged to have been made by them are quoted like scripture among active duty marines. Gen Butler aside from attaining the rank of major general, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor--twice. (Sgt. Daly, my personal hero, had two as well <i>and</i> a Navy Cross, the second-highest award in the USMC, equivalent to the Army&#x27;s DSC; Chesty had no MoH, just five Navy Crosses, which is still pretty good).<p>So here he is at the end of his superb 33-year career, writing  a book in which he declares that war is a Racket. And by &quot;Racket&quot; he is clearly using the term in the precise sense: &quot;[a] service that is fraudulently offered to solve a problem, such as for a problem that does not actually exist, that will not be put into effect, or that would not otherwise exist if the racket did not exist.&quot;--in other words, what organized crime does.<p>&gt; &quot;Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints.&quot;<p>from the OP (a except from the Book, which in turn was based on a speech given by Butler two years prior): &quot;I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country&#x27;s most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers.&quot;<p>Needless to say, i never heard about this book while serving in the USMC as a Sergeant.<p>second, this book was published in 1935--Gen Butler&#x27;s indictment pre-dates not just the Vietnam War but WW II.