US military says Martin Luther King would be proud of its weapons

[Judi Lynn]

US military says Martin Luther King would be proud of its weapons

A repellent piece of propaganda appropriates the words and images of this nonviolence advocate to glorify US militarism

Glenn Greenwald
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 January 2013 16.34 EST

Yesterday, I highlighted the extraordinary anti-war speech Martin Luther King gave in 1967, in which he said, among other things, that the US government is "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today" and the leading exponent of "the deadly Western arrogance that has poisoned the international atmosphere for so long." The speech was devoted to arguing that America's militarism and war-fighting were degrading the soul of the nation and the citizenry and - for financial, political and cultural reasons - were making domestic progress impossible.

The US Air Force's Global Strike Command yesterday posted a truly vile bit of propaganda in which it appropriates King's image, name and words in order to claim that he would "be proud to see our Global Strike team . . . standing side-by-side ensuring the most powerful weapons in the US arsenal remain the credible bedrock of our national defense" (ellipses in original):

"The Department of Defense is a leader in equal opportunity for all patriots seeking to serve this great nation. . . The vigilant warriors in AFGSC understand they are all equal and unified in purpose to provide a safe, secure and effective deterrent force for the United States. . . .

"Dr. King would be proud to see our Global Strike team - comprised of Airmen, civilians and contractors from every race, creed, background and religion - standing side-by-side ensuring the most powerful weapons in the US arsenal remain the credible bedrock of our national defense. . . Our team must overlook our differences to ensure perfection as we maintain and operate our weapon systems. . . Maintaining our commitment to our Global Strike team, our families and our nation is a fitting tribute to Dr. King as we celebrate his legacy."

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/22/martin-luther-king-military-weapons

[tblue]

1. Well they're wrong.

I wish he could come back from the grave and tell them.

[riverbendviewgal]

3. me too

He was for non violence

[bemildred]

2. "You lie!" nt

[bluedigger]

4. "Commentary by Warren Ward"

This is not an official statement by the Air Force or any other DOD organization.

It's just a stupid commentary by some PAO schmuck named Warren Ward. http://www.afgsc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123333051

He's getting killed in the comments, too.

It makes me wish Hunter S. Thompson had the internet when he was in the Air Force.

[Jarhead1775]

5. I think they were attempting to focus on

"Dr. King would be proud to see our Global Strike team - comprised of Airmen, civilians and contractors from every race, creed, background and religion - standing side-by-side"

[sasha031]

6. The right wing and now the military are just making up history as they go along

I never thought I'd live to see the day, but they have high-jacked King's legacy which was always no-violence.
Does anyone ever bother to pick up a history book anymore??? The right wing are claiming King was a republican who was pro-assault weapons and advocated everyone be armed.
It's more than disturbing seeing this is now coming out of the military....

[Downtown Hound]

7. Yes, and the Iraqi people are just waiting to greet us with flowers and hugs of joy

and other bedtime fantasies of the U.S military.

[Leopolds Ghost]

8. Everyone's looking to appropriate Martin Luther King these days.

Given how critical he was of LBJ, a liberal president, what would his reaction be to Obama?

He's also the only historic figure whose statuary inscription is getting censored in DC.