Is It our Duty To Impose On Our Leaders The Highest Standards Of Accountability?

 On multiple occasions, during the last five years, I highlighted to readers the fact that “Wars Are Financial Investments,” “War Is A Racket,” and last but not least wars are always excellent opportunities to curtail the freedoms we cherish in a democratic society, in the name of patriotism and in the name of saving the collective good from the assaults of evil powers determined to destroy our fatherland.

The invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, or “The War On Islamic Terrorism” that lasted almost two decades, had one clear purpose: The eradication of al-Qaeda movement and the Taliban regime that had hosted al-Qaeda’s leadership, and provided training facilities to the Islamic militants under its command.

On 30 August 2021, the last US soldier left Afghanistan. The Taliban were back in Kabul triumphantly. Al-Qaeda metamorphosed itself into different franchises and groups active in countries spreading from Pakistan to almost every Arab country in The Middle East.

The cost of the war shouldered by American taxpayers was close to $2 trillion. More than 2700 US soldiers lost their lives, and the 20-year war maimed and crippled permanently some 10,000 US soldiers.

True, thousands of innocent Afghan civilians lost also their lives under very tragic circumstances. But as shocking as the death of innocent civilians, was also the gradual agonizing deaths of freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, and the imperative to seek accountability from those who launched a war against the Taliban regime (2001) only to return Afghanistan to Taliban rule 20 years later (2021).

In the absurdity of the “War On Islamic Terrorism” it became obvious to veteran observers of US policy that America is a country addicted to “Perpetual Wars.” Andrew P. Napolitano managed to articulate eloquently the previous statement in an article titled “America’s Deadly Addiction to War.” The former judge explained in his analysis that;

- While the economic burden of every war rests on the shoulders of the average US taxpayer “The beneficiaries are the military-industrial complex, the intelligence agencies and the politicians who confuse the exercise of power with the achievement of peace.“

- A familiar script is used by the “Administration” and its propaganda machinery to brainwash the average US citizen and obtain fraudulently his/her consent for an existential war against an enemy designated by the US intelligence community as a threat to the very survival of America: “The pattern is familiar. The government tells the public that a foreign adversary threatens our existence, that diplomacy has failed and that military action will be limited, necessary and successful. Then the bombs fall, the casualties mount and the mission changes. What began as a narrowly defined operation becomes a wider war, regime change, counterinsurgency or an open-ended commitment to demonstrate American domination. Then spying at home and federal borrowing are ratcheted up — all accompanied by the false message of spreading democracy and liberty.”

- Mr. Napolitano argues in his article that: “In each case [WAR], the distance between official assurances and eventual reality exposed the dangers of trusting government claims without demanding evidence. We now know these excuses were absurd. And the constitutional order has been systematically circumvented.”

- Mr. Napolitano asserts in his writings that since 1950 “American presidents have repeatedly committed American forces to major conflicts without formal declarations of war. Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Ukraine, Iran and numerous other military operations have proceeded under various presidential theories of authority, vague congressional resolutions and claims of inherent executive power.” And since Feb 2026, President Trump launched a “War Of Choice” on Iran based on the same Modus Operandi. While Trump borrowed an old script from former presidents to launch a new war against the regime of the Ayatollahs in Tehran, one critical factor needs to be highlighted: The war on Iran carries the serious ramification of plunging the economy of our entire planet into a catastrophic DEPRESSION.

- In the end Mr. Napolitano fails to provide clear solutions to the abuse of power that has dominated the American political arena. Since 1950, and after so many "Wars of Choice" we do not have a clear answer to:

“When does the war end? Who decides that its objectives have been achieved? What event obligates the president to bring the troops home? Too often, there is no satisfactory answer.”

“Congress has surrendered much of its constitutional responsibility, preferring to criticize a war when it becomes unpopular rather than accept responsibility for prohibiting it. Presidents enjoy the appearance of exercising decisive power while spreading the costs of their decisions across generations of taxpayers.”

“The intelligence agencies compound the problem. The CIA has conducted covert operations, fomented coups, participated in foreign interventions and murdered and tortured in ways that escape public scrutiny. Its clandestine capabilities can become instruments of presidential foreign policy operating beyond the ordinary accountability expected of a constitutional republic.”

“The author Tom Woods has observed, ‘No matter who you vote for, you get John McCain.’ The point is not about the late senator’s personality. It’s about the bipartisan foreign policy and deep state establishment’s enduring and triumphant commitment to intervention, military primacy and American dominance of the world — no matter who is president.”

“The military-industrial complex benefits. Intelligence agencies expand their influence. Defense contractors receive lucrative government contracts. Politicians posture as guardians of national security. Meanwhile, ordinary Americans pay the bills through taxes, inflation, mounting debt and the opportunity costs of spending money on destruction rather than productive activity at home; and our civil liberties are curtailed.”

“A republic that cannot distinguish national defense from global domination will eventually sacrifice both its resources and its principles.”

- Like all overstretched empires throughout history, America too will collapse under the economic burden of never-ending wars. Mr. Napolitano believes that a “Faint Hope” does exist if America goes for a soul searching trip and confronts the following question:

“Is America a constitutional republic or a fading military empire?

A republic defends its people and their lands against genuine threats. An empire seeks to shape the behavior of other nations through force, coercion, colonization and the constant threat of intervention. The former requires vigilance; the latter endless violence.

The most dangerous enemy of American security is not a foreign power. It is our own government’s inability to recognize that the power to wage war is not an unlimited license to rule the world.

A people whose country cannot say no to perpetual wars will eventually discover that wars have said no to their personal freedoms.”

Thomas Paine, the revolutionary who mobilized his pen for the fight against British tyranny in America, was right when he insisted that reconciliation with the evils imposed by the British monarchy on the thirteen colonies of America would only repeat the cycle of oppression.

Accountability is one of the most critical tools available to citizens in their struggle against authoritarian leaders who believe in self-aggrandizement at the expense of the collective good.

Today, America has an “Administration” convinced that NO institution can seek from it “Accountability.” To stop the never-ending cycles of oppression associated with lack of accountability, should we remind nations that “A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody?” [Thomas Paine]

Should we extend “Trust” to an “Administration” that strongly believes the “Supreme Leader” is accountable to NOBODY?

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Readers who are interested in knowing more about the views of Mr. Napolitano can consult also his book titled “Suicide Pact: The Radical Expansion of Presidential Powers and the Lethal Threat to American Liberty.”