The Reagan National Defense Forum this weekend was a great new chance for top Pentagon officials to prattle on about their favorite subject when trying to justify increases in US military spending: the “threat” posed by Russia and its much smaller military.
From Air Force Secretary Deborah James on down, officials were uniform in insisting Russia is the “number one threat to the United States,” and were all quick to mention Russia’s increase in arms spending as proof they are a growing threat. James went on to declare Russia an “existential threat” to the US.
The few percent increase in Russia’s arms sales was punctuated with talk of a US decline in sales, though in practice the US arms industry is more than half of the planet’s overall arms sales, while Russia is a comparatively small player for whom a few juicy export deals could amount to a big percentage increase.
Russia stands as a distant fourth place in global military spending, usually hovering somewhere around 10% of America’s own military budget, which is by far the largest. Russia only managed to get up to fourth after nations like Britain and France slowed their own spending increases in recent years.
Even if Russia follows through with planned spending increases in the years to come, there is no chance they’ll ever approach US spending levels, particularly since the US continues to massively increase its own spending to pay for its many, many wars.
If you listen to these warmongering crooks and thieves in the Pentagon,
EVERYONE is a ‘threat’ to the USG. Is there a better way for these bastards
to justify bilking taxpayers out of hundreds of billions each year on endless
wars for profit and rampant wasteful military spending?
Reagan National Defense Forum, named in honor of its tinhorn B Movie
actor, is the ideal sewer where you would hear this bullsh*t.
Concerning the “spending” comparison, such is not valid, because an accurate portrayal requires more concrete assesment of material production. This is not a simple matter of converting rubles to dollars then arriving at a “spending” comparison. The internal Russian defense structure still retains vestiges of the Soviet system within, namely that projects are developed and built for the purpose of national defense and offense without regard for corporate profits. The Russian defense industry and its partners are fully capable of matching the true output of the U.S. Steel, Chemicals, Scientists and Mechanics do not come with automatic price tags attached. An American screwdriver which costs the Pentagon $285 costs the Russians mere cents to produce the same item. Crony capitalism is the American way, overcharging and strapping the population into economic slavery re-labelled as ideological “freedom” is the mother’s milk of our oligarchs, you know, the same families of oligarchs whom Putin threw out of Russia many years ago.
Exactly. Spending comparisons are a two edged sword. On the one hand US overspending can be used to prove that Russia is no threat to US and NATO. On the other hand, it might lead fools to conclude that Russia would be a cakewalk; fortunately nuclear weapons usually put a damper on this idea.
Russia is well known for designing and building very effective weapons in large numbers. Not the highest technology but good enough for the purpose. During WW2, both Russia and the US proved that numbers beat superior technology.
We don’t need another try at “kick the door in and the whole edifice will come tumbling down” because it won’t. Russia can endure and deliver far more punishment that the US is willing to suffer.
What could be more useless than military “leaders” who can’t even accurately identify the enemy?
We have to defend our Homeland from Putin who is hell bent on bringing capitalism back to the US