Q. Here's a chicken-or-egg question: The U.S. accuses both Russia and China of rapidly expanding their military capabilities, claiming its own posturing and increase in weaponry is a response to its hostile adversaries, Russia and China. Both Russia and China claim they are merely responding to intimidation and military threats posed by the U.S. What's your view? Do Russia and China have imperial ambitions or are they just trying to defend themselves against what they see as an increasingly aggressive U.S. military?
A. Rather than give an opinion, I'll just give people some facts. The US has roughly 900 military bases around the world. China has a grand total of one outside of China. Russia has around 18, I think, and they're mostly in the former Soviet bloc. The US spends roughly $1 trillion a year on military (when we include the black budgets), which is the same amount as 144 countries COMBINED. The Pentagon has been found to have roughly $21 trillion in unaccounted-for financial adjustments on their books over the past two decades. To put that in perspective, if you earn $40,000 a year, in order to make $21 trillion, it would take you 525 million years. The Pentagon was finally audited for the first time a few years ago. It took over 1,000 auditors and lasted for over a year. At the end of it, the Pentagon simply said, "We failed our audit." And that was basically the end of the information given to the public. . . . So yeah, I guess the US is just defending itself from the dastardly Chinese and Russians.
Q. The U.S. always denies that it has imperial ambitions. Most unbiased experts say that by any objective standards, the U.S. is an empire indeed the most powerful, sprawling empire in history. Does the U.S. have to be an empire to be successful in the world and effectively protect and serve its citizenry?
A. Well, if you want to decide if the US is an empire, please see previous facts. In terms of "being a success," the US is not a success. We here in the US face immense inequality (a higher Gini coefficient than Ancient Rome just before its collapse), don't have universal healthcare, don't have free college education, face a crippling opioid epidemic, have a political system filled with corruption, and the world's largest prison state (both total number and per capita). On top of that, late-stage capitalism is killing the environment in the US and around the world. We've lost 50% of all wildlife over the past 40 years, the oceans are filling with plastic, 2000 cities in the US have elevated lead in the water, and the insect world is facing a genocide. Under no interpretation of the word, could the US be considered a "success." A success would be a sustainable society that provides a comfortable and fulfilling future for our grandchildren and their grandchildren. We seem to have the opposite.
Q. The highest ranking commanders of the U.S. military recently sounded the alarm. They have concluded that the U.S. widely regarded as the most formidable military power in history can't defeat either Russia or China in a war. These military commanders are saying we need to dramatically increase our military capabilities. What do you make of this claim and the resulting demand for more DOD spending?
A. (Please see earlier numbers about the amount spent on the military.) Toxic nationalism along with capitalism is destroying the globe. We're told to hate enemies like Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, etc. Can anyone explain to me why a baby born in Iran is evil and a baby born in the US is wonderful and moral and pure? I haven't heard a good answer for that, but they want us to believe it.
Q. In 2009, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton announced a reset with Russia, heralding greater cooperation and understanding. By 2014, Obama had made a sharp reversal. A sweeping regime of sanctions has since been imposed on Russia to cripple its economy. Hillary Clinton and the Democrats now relentlessly demonize Russia and Putin, blaming them for every imaginable ill. Both in the media and from official pronouncements by government officials, Russia has become the favorite whipping boy for both the U.S. and its "special friend", Great Britain. Why? What happened?
A. The US is a waning empire in the turbulence of late-stage capitalism. America doesn't treat our own citizens well (just look at our insane healthcare system), and therefore the only way to get citizens to ignore their true enemies (the ruling elite), is to convince them the great "other" is out to get them. Hence the War on Terror, the new cold war against Russia and China - each of these propaganda tools helps keep average American citizens in line and willing to give up all of their rights and liberties. The oligarchs are basically saying, "We're not the ones exploiting you. We're not the source of your troubles. It's the Russians. It's the Chinese. It's the Syrians." This is not the only reason for the new cold wars that have been instituted, but it's definitely one of the important ones.
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