In America, politicians and the president are closest to kings. The song was written during the Bush administration which had polititians rating an all time low by ec and many others. So I think it is definitely an anti-war song and it is the fault of politians. "Swindlers who act like kings" are the politicians. "Brokers who break everything" must be the lobbiests that tempt and sway politicians, usually not for the good of the country. I also think the lyric before "man goes beyond his own decision, gets caught up in the mechanism" refers to the politian losing sight of what he go into public service for in the first place and is trapped by the political machine. Definitely a job I could not do, or at least I hope I wouldn't last at it long by not playing the game. Find a YouTube vido where Elvis sings the song on the Today Show. He adds a verse that starts like the first, but instead of "A little bird did sing" he says "...a black bell tolls high up in the dome. Admit you lied and bring our boys back home." No question there about the anti-war song designation. Have to assume he's talking directly to Bush on "admit you lied".