Trump Regime’s Rage for Militarism and Aggression
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)
America’s only enemies are invented ones. The same goes for US-dominated NATO and the EU (most of its nation’s alliance members), created by Washington to serve its imperial agenda - notably since the Soviet Union dissolved.
Instead of pursuing world peace, stability, and sustainable economic growth, Washington prioritizes endless wars of aggression.
Its NATO/EU partners subserviently go along with policies harming their own self-interest - including by allying with US hostility toward Russia and other countries.
Militarism and belligerence come at the expense of vital homeland needs. America spends as much on so-called defense as most other nations combined - with all categories included, notably countless billions of dollars in off-the-books black budgets.
Waging peace instead of endless wars of aggression, Russia and China spend small fractions of what Washington devotes to its global imperial agenda.
According to defense expert William Hartung, Trump’s so-called plan to repair America’s crumbling infrastructure “involves pumping up Pentagon spending, not investing in roads, bridges, transportation, better Internet access, or other pressing needs of the civilian economy.”
Militarism and warmaking remain top regime priorities. Trump’s infrastructure spending scheme largely involves private, state and local spending, an “anemic proposal…now dead in the water,” according to Hartung.
Arms sales are a key part of his agenda, his notion of a jobs-creation program. Economic growth benefits most from domestic spending, including vital infrastructure, clean energy, healthcare and education - investing in development instead of destruction.
According to the Society of Civil Engineers, failure to fix America’s crumbling infrastructure could cost the economy trillions of dollars and millions of jobs over the next decade.
Prioritized military spending defeats this agenda, maintaining America as an armed camp at the expense of economic growth and development.
The post-WW II GI bill was one of America’s best investments, providing college or vocational education for 7.8 million returning vets, a year of unemployment compensation and more.
Around 2.4 million vets got VA-backed low-interest, no down payment home loans at a time their average cost was under $5,000, enabling millions of families to afford them, many with government help.
America needs more of the above, less militarism and belligerence, prioritizing peace and economic development of military Keyensianism and endless wars of aggression - a sustainable productive agenda over a destructive one.
Trump wants none of it, demanding NATO countries increase military spending over responsibly cutting it at a time alliance members have no enemies, no threats to their national security except invented ones.
He sent letters to key NATO member states, demanding greater military spending, warning about his frustration for not obeying his regime, saying:
“(T)here’s growing frustration in the United States that some allies have not stepped up as promised…Continued…underspending on defense undermines the security of the alliance and provides validation for other allies that also do not plan to meet their military spending commitments…”
Reportedly only Britain, (impoverished) Greece, Poland and Estonia met Trump’s demands.
According to his letter, his regime “might adjust its military presence around the world if its allies do not step and spend more for their own security.”
Trump’s agenda combines growing militarism and belligerence with greater arms sales by US defense companies - world peace and stability off the table.
As Hartung puts it, “the Pentagon (is) the only game in town (at the expense of) blood and treasure.”
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