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Invented Threats Boost US Military Spending |
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By
Stephen Lendman |
| With all categories included, America spends
over $1.5 trillion annually on so-called defense - plus huge unknown amounts
for intelligence in black budgets, despite having no enemies except ones
it invents. Russia and China prioritize peace and stability, at war with no other nations, threatening none. They spend small fractions of what America budgets for militarism, endless wars in multiple theaters and maintaining its global empire of bases - threatening world peace. The New York Times is a longstanding imperial cheerleader, a notorious Russia basher, Putin hater. Its April 20 article, titled “Russia Bolsters Its Submarine Fleet and Tensions With US Rise” reads like a Pentagon press release. It hyped anti-Russian sentiment about its submarine fleet - threatening no other nation, but you’d never know it from the tone of the article, saying: “Russian attack submarines, the most in two decades, are prowling the coastlines of Scandinavia and Scotland, the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic in what Western military officials say is a significantly increased presence aimed at contesting American and NATO undersea dominance.” “The patrols are the most visible sign of a renewed interest in submarine warfare by President Vladimir V. Putin.” The Times ludicrously claims he’s escalating tensions with America, “projecting force” in the North Atlantic, Syria, Ukraine, while “building up its nuclear arsenal and cyberwarfare capacities” - representing a challenge to US-dominated NATO. Fact: Putin prioritizes world peace and stability, polar opposite America’s endless war agenda. Fact: Russian surface and subsurface ships legally sail in international waters, mostly close to home threatening no one. Fact: America’s global military footprint and naked aggression in multiple theaters threaten world peace. Fact: Putin abhors warfare by any means, alone among world leaders trying to resolve conflicts in Ukraine and Syria diplomatically - unable to because America wants war. Fact: Longstanding US policy calls for regime change in Russia - by color revolution or war. Fact: Putin defends his nation responsibly, the mandate of all leaders. America represents a real existential threat. He wages peace while enabling Russia to respond to possible US aggression. Every time military budgets are discussed in Congress, Pentagon commanders hype nonexistent Russian, Chinese and Iranian threats for increased funding. According to The Times, DOD wants over $8 billion over the next five years for “undersea capabilities” alone - including nine new Virginia-class attack nuclear-powered submarines, carrying “up to 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles” armed with nuclear or conventional warheads, more than triple current capacity. America has 57 nuclear-powered attack submarines overall, threatening world peace along with its other global military forces. It’s recklessly waging Cold War with Russia and China, at great risk of turning hot. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |
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