The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY)

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The Entertainment Propaganda Machine

Tarik Ata

  español  -

 April 05, 2024 / Tarik Ata / The International - Propaganda is something we in the West often associate with Nazi Germany and the likes of Joseph Goebbels or even that of the Soviet Union — often incorrectly equating the USSR to the Nazi regime in the process. But what if I were to tell you we currently live in a far more propagandised world, one that even the notorious propagandist Goebbels would not have been able to fathom. Well, this is the predicament we find ourselves in.

Propaganda is disseminated via a myriad of mediums, be it entertainment (cinema, TV, video games, and even music) to academia, journalism, and various other information-producing industries. The United States government has, and continues to, propagate an image of itself as a benevolent power seeking the promotion of “liberal” virtues around the globe. Despite furthering its own interests by breaking international law and committing crimes against humanity, as we saw in Abu Ghraib, the notorious prison in Iraq where many were tortured and sexually abused, and in Guantanamo Bay, where hundreds were detained — many still are — without trial and held against their will often suffering barbaric abuses such as sodomy and torture.

The propaganda machine of the United States has infiltrated every aspect of our lives, dictating the narrative empire wants to be told and masking the crimes that are committed. The barbarity that Washington engages in serves the capital and political interests and is often at the expense of those within the metropole as taxpayers fund Washington’s imperial ambitions. All the while the United States is crumbling from within, with tens of millions currently living in poverty, life expectancy is falling, and infrastructure collapsing; the empire, as Parenti notes, bleeds the republic.

One area that is insidious, because of the often-alleged apolitical approach of this industry, from Hollywood, and the entertainment industry more broadly, as it partakes in spreading an imperial doctrine around the globe propagating it to the masses. The image that is developed and the message which is distributed, as we shall outline, is dictated by American exceptionalism and hegemonic interests using entertainment as a tool in empire building.

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Replay: The militarization of youth and how to counter it

Sahar Vardi and Dola Nicholas Oluoch

(The following article is a reposting from eleven years ago from the office of the War Resisters' International at the Peace Pentagon in London - Seems appropriate to raise the bar for counter-recruitment in the time of Trump.)

  español -

17 Jun 2014 / Sahar Vardi and Dola Nicholas Oluoch / War Resisters' International - The images of war, armed conflict and organized violence worldwide can take different forms, but the one thing they almost always have in common are the young men and women filling the lines of military and paramilitary organizations.

In both countries that still have conscription, and countries with professional militaries, governments, education systems, the militaries themselves and even privet companies and organizations, are all actively promote militaristic values, both to fill the ranks of armed forces, and to legitimize the use of organized violence socially.

In conscript societies, even though conscription is enforced by law, there are still great efforts to militarize youth. In Israel for example, much of the effort is concentrated in schools. Soldiers going in and out of classrooms explaining about units and positions, teachers being measured according to the enlistment rate of their students, principals promoting their schools by showing-off the high rate of combat soldiers or officers that graduated from the schools, and ministers of education that out-right declare that preparation for military service is one of the goals of the education system. According to a survey done by WRI in 32 countries (both with conscript and professional militaries), in 18 of them there’s an official collaboration between the ministry of education and the military, and in the majority of countries with no mandatory service, the military does overt recruitment in schools. But militarization of youth doesn’t start and end within the walls of education systems.

While more and more countries in the world abolish conscription and move to a professional army there are plenty of other, more and less official ways to militarize youth without laws forcing conscription.

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The Draft and U.S. Wars in Iran and Around the World

Edward Hasbrouck

 

Will there be a draft?  How is it going to work?   What can we do about it?   Why Worry About the Draft? 

    español - 

22 June 2025 / Edward Hasbrouck / Resisters.info - The draft is a threat to everyone concerned about peace — not just young men. The more soldiers the generals have, the more soldiers and civilians they can kill — and without a draft, the U.S. military is eventually going to run short of “volunteer” soldiers for its endless wars around the world!

Some people think that only young men can resist the draft. But that’s not true at all. The people most likely to face the draft first doctors, nurses, and other health care workers — men and women up to age 45 in 57 different occupations.

Some people think they would be safe from the draft because they are college students or plan to seek conscientious objector (CO) status. But student deferments have been abolished, most people who oppose wars don’t qualify for CO status, and many valid CO claims will be denied.

Politicians know the draft would produce widespread dissent and resistance. The higher the domestic costs of the draft look, the more likely politicians are to seek an end to the wars. Fear of the draft will encourage them to bring the troops home before the recruiting crisis gets any worse.

Since the resumption of draft registration in 1980, the U.S. has invaded Panama, Grenada, Afghanistan, and Iraq; used drones and missiles to attack Yemen; bombed Iran; and attacked other countries through U.S.-armed proxies. But with a draft supplying even more soldiers, each of those wars could have been even bloodier.

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