Ndi Alex Abella; New York; Harcourt; 2008; 400 pp.
Im buku lake la 1956, The Power Elite, Katswiri wa zachikhalidwe cha anthu C. Wright Mills anachenjeza za kukula kwa khansa ya gulu lankhondo ndi mafakitale, ndi kuwonjezeka kwachinsinsi cha boma la America, lomwe linkalamulidwa ndi gulu lopapatiza lomwe linali ndi maubwenzi apamtima ku makampani. Mtolankhani Alex Abella buku latsopano lanzeru Asilikali a Zifukwa: The RAND Corporation ndi Rise of the American Empire, kukulitsa kuwunika kwa Mills, kuwonetsa momwe akatswiri azamalamulo ndi bungwe la RAND (Research and Development) adathandizira kwambiri pakukweza ndalama zankhondo pa nthawi ya Cold War, mwa zina kudzera pakukhazikitsidwa kwa malingaliro apocalyptic anyukiliya ya Soviet Union. luso ndi zokhumba zapadziko lonse lapansi. Ambiri mwa anzeru omwewo ndi othandizira awo pambuyo pake adzakhudza kulanda koopsa kwa US ndikuwukira ku Iraq. Iwo anatsogozedwa ndi lingaliro limene chikhalidwe cha Amereka chinalingaliridwa kukhala chikuimira pachimake cha chitukuko chamakono ndi chikhulupiriro cha chiphunzitso chosankha mwanzeru—kapena lingaliro lakuti anthu anachita kokha chifukwa cha kudzikonda kwawo ndi kuti zikhumbo zazikulu za maiko zikanakhala kokha. kuchepetsedwa ndi mphamvu kapena kuwopseza.
Kutengera kupezeka kwapadera kwa wolemba zosungira zakale za RAND komanso zoyankhulana ndi mamembala ofunikira, Abella amatsata mbiri yochititsa chidwi ya bungweli, yomwe ikugwirizana ndi kukwera kwa America pamphamvu padziko lonse lapansi nkhondo yachiwiri yapadziko lonse itatha. Kutengera ku Santa Monica, California, ntchito ya RAND inali yochita maphunziro aukadaulo wankhondo komanso kuthandiza atsogoleri aboma kutsatira mfundo zachitetezo cha dziko. Kufunika kwake kunawonetsa "chipembedzo cha katswiri" wopanda demokalase, chomwe chimanena kuti okhawo omwe ali ndi mwayi wodziwa zambiri komanso zidziwitso ndi omwe angaloledwe kupanga mfundo za anthu.
Abella akuwonetsa akatswiri angapo a "nyenyezi" a "Golden Age" m'zaka za m'ma 1950, kuphatikiza wolemba mbiri waku Yale Bernard Brodie yemwe adayambitsa kafukufuku wofufuza zakupha, zomwe zidawona kuti sizinaphule kanthu pakupundula zida zankhondo za Hitler, komanso katswiri wazamtsogolo Herman Kahn. amene anavomereza kugwiritsa ntchito zida za nyukiliya pofuna kulepheretsa kuukira kwa Soviet. Amayang'ananso chidwi cha katswiri wa masamu Albert Wohlstetter, yemwe angakhale mphunzitsi wa neoconservative Paul Wolfowitz monga pulofesa wa sayansi ya ndale ku yunivesite ya Chicago. Monga Kahn, Wohlstetter anali wonyada ndipo adalimbikitsa kuti United States ikhale yokonzeka kumenya kaye kuti apewe kuphulika kwa nyukiliya ya Soviet. Ankakondanso kukulitsa ulamuliro wa US ndi mphamvu kunja ndipo sakanatha kuganiza za vuto.
Abella amasiyanitsa mwaluso mawonekedwe a dziko lapansi a magetsi otsogola a RAND, akulozera ku malingaliro awo okhudzana ndi mphamvu zankhondo za Soviet komanso momwe malingaliro awo pa ubale wapadziko lonse lapansi ndi zenizeni zenizeni komanso mphamvu zidapangitsa kuti akhale ndi malingaliro osasamala pazochitika zankhondo. Kutengeka mtima ndi kuchuluka kwa ziwerengero ndi malingaliro opitilira muyeso a tsankho ladziko ndi ukoma zinawachititsanso khungu kuti asatengeke ndi zochitika zapadziko lachitatu ndikuwapangitsa kunyalanyaza zopanda chilungamo zomwe zikuchitika mdziko la US. Zizolowezi izi zidafika pachimake pankhondo ya Vietnam.
Ofufuza ambiri a RAND adasankhidwa kukhala alangizi kwa oyang'anira Kennedy ndipo adawona Vietnam ngati labotale yokhazikitsa njira zatsopano zothana ndi zigawenga. Chodabwitsa n'chakuti, ngakhale kuti adapangidwa kuti athandize kuyesetsa kukhazikika, maphunziro awo a "Vietcong" adatsimikiza kuti bungwe losintha zinthu linali lokhazikika kumidzi ndipo likuyimira zikhumbo za nthawi yayitali za ufulu wadziko komanso chilungamo cha anthu. Izi zinatsutsana ndi maganizo a utsogoleri wa "nkhanza zakumpoto" ndipo zinachititsa achinyamata ambiri ogwira ntchito ku RAND, kuphatikizapo Anthony Russo ndi Daniel Ellsberg, kunena kuti nkhondoyo sinapambane kapena yolungama. Ellsberg, yemwe amakonzekera udindo wapamwamba, adakwiya kwambiri kotero kuti adazembetsa Pentagon Papers - kafukufuku wachinsinsi wa mbiri ya US ku Vietnam - kuchokera m'maofesi a RAND ndikuwatengera New York Times.
Pambuyo pa chipwirikiti cha Vietnam, panali chiwongola dzanja chachikulu cha ogwira ntchito ndipo RAND idasinthiratu chidwi chake kumavuto akumatauni monga umphawi ndi umbanda, zomwe zimawoneka kuti zikuchepetsa kutchuka kwa US kutsidya lina. Bungweli lidapitilira kukonza ndondomeko ya ndondomeko ndikukankhira patsogolo kusintha kwa Reagan polimbikitsa kuchotsedwa, kubisa, ndi kuchepetsa misonkho. Mfundozi zinkagwirizana ndi mfundo yoti munthu angasankhe yekha zochita mwanzeru, yomwe inkagogomezera kuti kudzikonda kumatsogolera khalidwe la munthu m'malo mongoganiza kuti ali ndi udindo pamodzi, komanso kuti pamafunika boma laling'ono kuti chibadwa cha munthu chiziyenda bwino. M'zaka za m'ma 1990, RAND idatulukira ngati maziko a neoconservatism. Ambiri mwa akatswiri ake otsogola, kuchokera ku Zalmay Khalilzad kupita kwa Paul Wolfowitz kupita ku Richard Perle, mwina amagwira ntchito kumeneko kapena amaphunzitsidwa ndi aphunzitsi akale. Adalimbikitsa kupitilizabe kumenya nkhondo kwa anthu aku US, luso laukadaulo mu Gulu Lankhondo, komanso nkhondo zoyambilira kuti zikulitse mphamvu zaku US ndikuwongolera nkhokwe zofunika zamafuta ndi mphamvu ku Middle East. Kulephera kwawo ku Iraq kumabweretsa malingaliro ozama komanso kuyang'ana pang'ono kozikidwa pa ndondomeko yazakunja ya RAND kuyambira mzaka za m'ma 1950, ngakhale zinali zovuta kwambiri. Kwa mbiri yake, Abella samayika malingaliro a RAND m'malo opanda kanthu, akutsutsa kumapeto kwa buku lake kuti amawonetsa zikhulupiliro zachikhalidwe. Iye akulemba kuti: “Ndi anthu a ku America amene agula nthanthi ya kusankha mwanzeru ndi kutseka maso awo ndi kulola makhalidwe kusudzulana ndi ndondomeko ya boma…. Ngati tiyang’ana pagalasi, tidzawona kuti RAND ili m’gulu lililonse la ife."
Pazonse, Abella adalemba buku labwino kwambiri pa mbiri ya RAND Corporation ndi malingaliro olakwika komanso kusanthula "katswiri" komwe kwapititsa patsogolo mfundo zakunja zakunja kuyambira Nkhondo Yachiwiri Yapadziko Lonse. Kupyolera mu ndemanga zomalizazi titha kuona kuti amapewa msampha wosavuta wonyoza aluntha achitetezo ku RAND, omwe adangokhala opangidwa ndi nthawi ndi malo enieni m'mbiri komanso chikhalidwe chawo. Amapereka chidziwitso chachikulu, komabe, mu dziko la Byzantine la ndondomeko ya chitetezo cha dziko la US ndi momwe akatswiri aukadaulo adathandizira kupanga mfundo zakunja zochokera kumantha opanda nzeru, kudzikonda komanso kusowa chidwi ndi chifundo cha anthu. Zotsatira zake zakhala zowononga ku America ndi dziko lonse lapansi.
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Jeremy Kuzmarov akuyendera pulofesa wothandizira wa mbiri yakale ku yunivesite ya Bucknell.