Department of War: Finally, Some Honesty
May 18, 2026
by William P. Meyers

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Department of Defense, what a joke

The Trump Administration renamed the military organization of the United States of America, formerly the Department of Defense, to be the Department of War. This is part of Donald Trump's Make America Great Again effort. Until 1947 we had two military departments, the Department of the Navy and the Department of War. They were combined into the Department of Defense in the National Security Act of 1947. It was part of the effort to make America's image into the Good Guys, defenders of freedom, not like that terrible aggressor Hitler. More like the kindly, tea-drinking, British Empire, which we were undermining and replacing.

The Trump regime is the most corrupt presidential administration in U.S. history, easily, by a factor of at least ten, so far. The dishonesty of Donald Trump is proverbial. But it this particular case, he is calling something what it really is. The U.S. military exists to conduct War, and not wars of defense.

This upsets the Democratic Party, liberal, left segment of the American population. They are against war, unless it is defensive war. Or the military spending is in their state or district. I agree that people have a right to defend themselves. But I disagree with the standard history of the USA as taught in our grade schools and high schools. I do not believe the U.S. military has ever fought a defensive war. No, not even World War II.

The Revolutionary War was certainly no defensive war. It had a variety of causes, but the most prominent were a desire to annex Native American Indian lands and to maintain slavery even after British courts had ruled [See Somerset Decision] that slavery could not exist on British Soil. The colonists could have asked to be represented in Parliament, as was the case for Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, but they still would have been prevented from expanding into Indian lands (west of the Appalacians).

Asside from a long list of Indian Wars, that were obviously aggressive, next we had the War of 1812. Now spun as a war of defense against British invaders and tyranny, in fact it was a war of U.S. aggression, begun to add Florida and Canada to the United States.

The next big war was the Mexican American War, in which we grabbed the land from Texas to California from Mexico. Spun as a defensive war because Mexican troops attacked U.S. troops who had illegally invaded.

Spanish American War. No defense of any kind, just grabbing Puerto Rico and Philippines, plus effective control of Cuba through a puppet regime.

World War I. None of our business. But Wall Street loaned a lot of money to France and Britain. If those countries lost to Germany and Austria, the banks would not have been repaid. Go, go, go, U.S. troops.

World War II was more complicated. Hitler was evil, as was Germany's white supremicist dogma. Japan was working on kicking the European powers out of Asia, a reasonable goal. That meant also taking the Philippines from the U.S. They did attack first, at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, but the U.S. had stolen Hawaii from Asians. In the Philippines General Douglas MacArthur had been given permission to attack the Japanese in Formosa (Taiwan), while a huge US Naval fleet was sailing to attack the Japanese in China. In any case the Japanese never invaded the United States, unless you want to call the Philippines part of the U.S. Instead the U.S. re-invaded Asia and all the U.S. vs. Japan battles ere fought there, with the Japanese on the defensive. [See my book, U.S. War Against Asia]

Korea. Why was that any of our business?

Vietnam. What did we think it was, West LA? It was a war of aggression by our misnamed Department of Defense.

Afghanistan. Did the Taliban attack the U.S.? No, a bunch of Saudis did. Another U.S. war of aggression

Iraq. We had no business there, but we went anyway, in a war of offense.

And most recently Iran. A terrible strategic mistake, showing the dumbness of Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump, but dumbass American voters got what they voted for.

You can try to explain things to people, but you can't make them think.

Department of War. Better not let me get in charge. Because I would make war on the fossil fuel industry. In Defense of Mother Earth.