Did Imperialism, Radicalism and Nationalism cause the Benghazi Tragedy?

What do we really know about The Benghazi Incident (not a scandal)? Could it have been prevented? Could the foreign policy and war hawking have been a factor? What are the main factors that lead to the deaths of 4 American Government workers? Are these deaths the consequences of a failed policy and retribution for intervention? How do the “Radicals” on both sides of this issue fuel the fire and promulgate the cause beyond this incident? Can a deep held Nationalism and Imperialism be to blame, at least partially?

The lives of J. Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty were added to the statistical sheets and lists of names of those killed by the actions of the government they worked for. Their own actions contributing to their deaths.

Empire building is paid for by the blood of its citizens.

In empires the cost of expansion has always been monetary and lives. The monetary losses are inherent due to an ever expanding use of resources to fulfill land, power or military gains. It goes without saying that Fiat currency and its value manipulation aid in this matter. It is the human losses that are taken the hardest and rightfully so. The deaths of men and women who have been led to believe they are doing a service to the civilian population at home are justified under the rules of war and the guise of a better tomorrow. The lives of these four men were not the first in this long line of death attributed to government’s interventionist policies and empire building. Though you will not hear it on the political “news” commentary these consulate and embassy attacks happened during the prior Presidential Administration as well, from January 22, 2002 to September 17, 2008 there were 13 separate attacks on US buildings resulting in the death of many and injuring many more. Some will say that these deaths were mostly not Americans and that they should not count as the same, but I say this, how is one life or one attack different than another. A US diplomat, David Foy died as a result of an embassy attack in 2006, where is this in the media today? It’s not there because it has no bearing on the sensationalism of the story today, right now, in your face rhetoric redirecting from the factual past and skewing the point. That point being that this isn't a partisan issue, it’s a policy issue. It is the act of intervention that keeps enemies at our gates. It is the act of intervention that breeds hate and contempt. It is this intervention that costs us one of the most basic natural resources we have, the human being.

We have radicals on all sides.

I hear this all the time, “If it weren't for those radical _____ (insert religious term of your choice) none of this would have happened” Well that’s one way of saying it. Let’s try another, “If the American war radicals weren't so keen to blow up things around the world…” Get it? There are radicals on all sides of this issue. We have radical Pro-Military people screaming to nuke the world. We have radical religious people who claim their religion is the only one allowed and all others must not be allowed to survive. (Don’t think I am just pointing at the Islam faith, Christians pull the same stunts). There are the interventionist radicals and the empirical radicals just the same, shouting for their blood baths and land and power grabs, urging on the utter annihilation of complete civilizations and religions.

The thing is if we didn't have all these radicals screaming for their favorite way of dealing with things all dealing with death and destruction of some sort or another, maybe we could have a rational and logical discussion on the affairs of the world. But maybe I’m just hopeful. Maybe I am just a radical Peace Monger, I just don’t see the rational to defy reason and subvert logic for a gain of temporary peace and faux respect.

Nationalism is a horrid disease of the brain.

Albert Einstein said it best of Nationalism, He says

"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."

And dammit if he isn't right.

It is a disease, a curable disease at that. Inject some knowledge, a little understanding, a few shots of philosophy and it can change the world. Nationalism really is a hard thing to beat, mainly because most people do not see it as a negative thing. They see “Love of country”, National Flags, Pledges of allegiances, our colors and stripes; they claim superiority and greatness arrogantly and erroneously. Exceptionalism is a word they like to throw around a lot. But are they really exceptional? Are they really great? Are they really superior? How do they fill these claims, by what measure?

Let’s think about it this way, the Nation you were born into, you did not pick it and it did not pick you, by some cosmic happenstance you are where you are and not somewhere where you accept bombing to rubble, on the other side of that is those people that are in the place you are destroying and through that same cosmic happenstance they are being murdered and displaced because of that placement. That doesn't sound too much like a good thing. What if it were reversed, would you accept your fate because you are in a place that others see fit to destroy or invade? Would you feel the same if your home were burned or bombarded, if your family were killed, or you were targeted by drone bombing all because of the geographical location you are in? Nationalism has killed more innocent people than almost any other belief in the history of man. Hitler and Mao used Nationalism to subject millions to the will of Socialism and Dictatorship. The Northern States used Nationalism to carry out a Civil war and subject free individual states to an all-encompassing never ending contract of subservience.  The United States, along with other nations, is using Nationalism again to justify homicide around the globe.

Benghazi wasn't an isolated incident, and it wasn't a scandal, hell I even say it wasn't a surprise. It was a response to the policies and procedures, the mindsets and arrogance Americans show the world. If it be said that justifying an act such as this is on the national security interests of a nation than this is no more an attack than invading Iraq or Afghanistan was. If it be said that the radicals were to blame, then we can say yes, radical nationalists on both sides are to blame. If we are to say that the price of an expanding empire is paid by the blood of its citizens then these four men have paid that price, and there will be more to come.  

The investigation that is and will be taking place in the coming months and years will produce no tangible results, it will not alter policy or procedure, it will not halt the footsteps into a world war, it will not affect the outcome of imperialism, nationalism or radicalism in any nation. The investigation will not lead to arrests of those who perpetrated the act; at best a drone will fly overhead and destroy the entire village they may be staying in, without regard for the innocent lives it will destroy.  No this investigation is a sham; it is a waste of time and ultimately tax payers money.

Benghazi wasn't a single act of terrorism; it was the partial culmination of bad policy and even worse judgment.  These men were not heroes; they are statistics of the loss of lives due to government policy of world domination and world policing.