"Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other." No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare." James Madison
Eventually, all military empires fall and fail by spreading themselves too thin and spending themselves to death.
It's happening again.
At the height of its power, even the mighty Roman Empire could not stare down a collapsing economy and a burgeoning military. Prolonged periods of war and false economic prosperity largely led to its demise.
The American Empirewith its endless wars waged by U.S. military servicepeople who have been reduced to little more than guns for hire: outsourced, stretched too thin, and deployed to far-flung places to police the globeis approaching a breaking point.
War has become a huge money-making venture, and America, with its vast military empire and its incestuous relationship with a host of international defense contractors, is one of its best buyers and sellers.
Most recently, the Trump Administration signaled its willingness to put the lives of American troops on the line in order to guard Saudi Arabia's oil resources. Roughly 200 American troops will join the 500 troops already stationed in Saudi Arabia. That's in addition to the 60,000 U.S. troops that have been deployed throughout the Middle East for decades.
The military industrial complex is calling the shots, of course, and profit is its primary objective.
The military-industrial complex is also the world's largest employer.
America has long had a penchant for endless wars that empty our national coffers while fattening those of the military industrial complex.
Aided and abetted by the U.S government, the American military-industrial complex has erected an empire unsurpassed in history in its breadth and scope, one dedicated to conducting perpetual warfare throughout the earth.
Although the U.S. constitutes only 5% of the world's population, America boasts almost 50% of the world's total military expenditure, spending more on the military than the next 19 biggest spending nations combined. Indeed, the Pentagon spends more on war than all 50 states combined spend on health, education, welfare, and safety.
Unfortunately, this level of war-mongering doesn't come cheap to the taxpayers who are forced to foot the bill.
Having been co-opted by greedy defense contractors, corrupt politicians and incompetent government officials, America's expanding military empire is bleeding the country dry at a rate of more than $32 million per hour.
In fact, the U.S. government has spent more money every five seconds in Iraq than the average American earns in a year.
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