Geniuses!

The House of Representatives just voted to give the Pentagon $741,000,000,000. We are in the middle of a global pandemic that has infected over 15 million Americans and will kill more than 300,000 people in this country before the year is out. Our representatives have prioritized money for weapons manufacturers and endless war over providing much needed aid to struggling people. The world is in dire need of action on climate change, and the national debt is skyrocketing, close to $30 trillion. Tell your members of Congress that this is unacceptable!

The U.S. has hundreds of military bases spread across 70+ countries. And now the U.S. military has troops, missiles, and other weapons on the borders of both Russia and China.  In particular, we have aircraft carriers near the South China Sea and are providing support to Taiwan.    How would the U.S. react if China and Russia had bases, troops and weapons near its borders?

According to David Swanson, “At least 90% of foreign military bases in the world are U.S. bases. The United States has more than 150,000 military troops deployed outside the United States on more than 800 bases (some estimates are more than 1000) in 175 countries, and all 7 continents. The bases are often environmental disasters, just as they are within the United States. And they are very often political disasters. The bases have proven to make wars more likely, not less likely. They serve in many cases to prop up oppressive governments, to facilitate the sale or gift of weaponry and the provision of training to oppressive governments, and to impede efforts for peace or disarmament.”

Even Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is saying that this is unsustainable. “I think it’s time we take a hard look at that,” Milley said during remarks at the virtual Washington Defense Forum. “I think we have too much infrastructure overseas, and too much permanent infrastructure.” (source)

Having killed, maimed and displaced millions of people in recent disastrous wars with third-rate countries, and having wasted between 4 and 6 trillion dollars, the “geniuses” that run U.S. foreign policy are now planning for war with Russia and China, which is four times our size and technologically advanced. The U.S. is deploying tactical nukes and starting an arms race in space.