The US Imperial War Budget

I wonder what have they been smoking when the Neocons devised the New American Century Project and came up with statements like this: • we need to accept responsibility for America’s unique role in preserving and extending an international order friendly to our security, our prosperity, and our principles.

These are the people who penetrated the White House, the Pentagon and State Department. People like Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bolton, all loony believers in the American destiny of Empire and world domination. They came out with such terms as Full Spectrum Dominance and similar Doctor Evil pronouncements..

Of course, they did not limit themselves to making crazy pronouncements. They converted their nefarious plans into action. Under the pretext to striking at Al Qaeda, they Invaded and occupied Afghanistan. Then, using cooked up reports brought to you the Invasion of Iraq

Though, the main culprits been eased out of power, they still wield enormous power through their proxies in the Military Industrial Complex. The crazy dream of Empire is responsible for hundreds of thousands civilian deaths and tens of thousands of American killed or wounded.

The American economy is one of the largest casualties. The combination of Wall Street fraud and an Eternal War budget has impoverished Americans and created an obscenely huge level of government debt.

American expenditures on war making are officially listed at 600 billion a year. This represents 52% of the total defense spending of all the countries in the world! This budget is ten times higher than Russia’s and six times larger than China’s.

When we add secret or hidden expenses like military operations hidden in NASA and war expenses stashed away in other budgets like foreign aid, American military expenditures reach a whopping 1.2 trillion.

These huge American expenditures force other countries to treat the US with great suspicion and spend more on armaments. The net geopolitical result is, it reduces the security of the US.

The US Legitimate Security needs

Unlike most Eurasian countries who have long borders with potential enemies, the US is protected by two oceans and its two land borders are with much weaker countries. Since 1812 no country has ever threatened the Mainland US. The only attack on mainland soil was executed by a gang of eighteen terrorists, which could only have been prevented by intelligence and police action.

Like practically every country in the world the US depends on trade with other countries and free passage by sea and air is essential. However, the US has no merchant fleet to speak of.

At the present time, and the foreseeable future, outside terrorism and piracy, the US and its Pacific Territories are not under any threat. The threat of terrorism could be greatly reduced by abandoning Imperial policies.

Considering the present threat level, the US can be effectively defended by the Coast Guard three or four Army divisions and half the ICBMs.

The only defense requirement beyond that, is maintaining operational and technical knowledge for a potential war at some point in the distant future.

When it comes to potential enemies, no matter how large a force the US has, it could never win a war against Russia or China. Nor could these two powers defeat the US.

If the US was to cut its forces by half and close most of its 600 military bases abroad, it would have 600 billion dollars available to pay off debt and create jobs. If it keeps overspending and Imperial policies it may collapse for the same reasons the USSR did.
As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and the enemy is us.”

Alexey Braguine is the author of KINGMAKER, a tale of international skullduggery, which Obama converted into prophesy-

Wall Street Protests

In the last twenty years the US has experienced profound changes, few of which have been for the better. The only bright spot was President Clinton’s surplus budget, which was quickly smashed following the 9/11 hysterical panic.

Misguided wars, economic and financial policies that resembled ponzi schemes brought about and economic train wreck. How could this have happened in an open, democratic society that prides itself for honesty and hard work?

Ten years ago it became evident that the circle of wealth was shrinking, more money was held in fewer hands. Huge profits increased at the expense of the middle class. Real estate prices skyrocketed and the US got its famous toxic bubble. Corruption, social injustice, excessive military spending grew out of control.

What I could not understand was, how come the US citizenry was tolerating the economic abuses. The situation in the US was beginning to look like that of some Latin American countries in the nineteen seventies, which brought out massive protests, terrorism and uprisings against the established oligarchies.

With the Arab Spring events in Algeria, Egypt and Syria, the question of the passivity of the American population intrigued me more and required some digging into American philosophy.

Unlike in Europe and Latin America where the population depends on the government for education and social services, in the US there is a culture of self reliance, one improves one´s situation by one’s own efforts. In other countries people blame their government, in the US people blame themselves for failure.

With Occupy Wall Street protests, the picture in the US is changing. The protests are growing but are weak. The protesters objectives are vague, but the protests should be taken seriously, not by arresting protesters but addressing the causes..

The problems are serious. The US is going through a grave economic crisis and political paralysis to solve it. Great inequalities have taken hold. The people are becoming aware that they have been swindled by oligarchs, lobbyists and their political and government minions.

If I was rich, I´d be worried. Very worried.

Alexey Braguine is the author of Kingmaker, a geopolitical thriller. Available through Amazon