Money for the Pentagon. Russians and Chinese are threatening!
The United States is increasing defense spending. According to US President Donald Trump, this is allegedly due to the aggressive policies of Russia and China. In Washington, Moscow and Beijing are considered the main threats to US national security. And they justify the growth of military spending by the need for protection from Russia and China.
Although Donald Trump won the presidential election, including due to the policy of saving budget funds and the withdrawal of American troops from other countries of the world, it was during his presidency that US spending on defense reached record levels. By the way, the owner of the White House himself, speaking to voters in North Carolina, said this, incidentally.
According to Trump himself, in the 2018 year, the United States funded the country's defense for 700 billion dollars, in 2019 year - for 716 billion dollars, and the president estimated the amount of military spending in the coming 2020 year at 738 billion dollars. At the same time, Donald Trump said that he simply had no choice but to increase military spending, since the United States is threatened by China, Russia and radical Islam. That is, the president identified three main potential adversaries, against whom it is worth arming and re-equipping the American army.
Of course, Donald Trump is very interested in presenting himself on the eve of the new presidential election as a true defender of US national interests, who took the country almost unarmed and left it with a well-armed and modern army. No wonder Trump did not forget to emphasize that by the time he came to power, the American armed forces were literally exhausted, but now they have received the latest aircraft, ships and missile systems.
Such statements should not be taken only as PR of Donald trump.
Until recently, the Americans really “relaxed” a bit, resting on the laurels of the strongest power in the world. But the rapid military-technical progress in Russia and China could not but alert the American leadership. The lobbyists of the US military-industrial complex, who were interested in the growth of military orders and, accordingly, in the receipt of new and increasing financial injections from the American budget, also perked up.
By the way, Trump’s personal views, which apply both to Russia and to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, are quite favorable, no longer matter of principle - the US president is dependent in his policy on the position of the American establishment, which is dominated by tough anti-Russian sentiments.
Both democrats and republicans are negative towards Russia and are building their programs taking into account the “Russian threat”, the very fact of which helps to consolidate supporters and seek to direct budget funds into the defense and military industries.
However, it is not the first time that the US defense budget has been criticized by the US Democratic Party. As you know, Democrats have the majority of seats in the lower House of Representatives of the US Congress and, accordingly, have the opportunity to reject the proposed draft budget. In particular, when the Trump administration requested the amount of the military budget for 2020 year in the amount of 750 billion dollars, the Democrats got into a mess and delivered 733 billion dollars.
For Democrats, the White House’s excessive military spending is another reason to hurt and stab President Trump. In turn, the latter has to prove that the United States should increase defense spending. And this despite the fact that he himself is an ardent supporter of the withdrawal of American troops from Syria and Afghanistan and the redirection of the funds that the United States spends today on troops overseas, on the development of American internal infrastructure.
However, influential circles of the American military-political elite object to the final withdrawal of troops. The Pentagon "feeds" due to hostilities in Afghanistan and Syria and therefore will stand to the last, disagreeing with the plan for the final withdrawal of troops. And even colossal expenses (only the war in Afghanistan cost the US budget at least five trillion dollars) military officials do not care.
But the Pentagon finds a lot of excuses for the presence of the military contingent in the same Syria, engaging in, among other things, outright moralization - supposedly, the withdrawal of American troops will put faithful allies - the Kurdish National Self-Defense Forces - in a very vulnerable position both before the Syrian government forces and before neighboring Turkey.
By the way, the USA also managed to quarrel with Turkey because of the war in Syria, since Washington’s support for the Kurds was very negatively received by Turkish President Recep Erdogan. Because of Syrian politics, the Americans found themselves in a very unpleasant situation, facing the risk of losing Turkey, a very important ally in a very significant direction. But it’s really not very good to throw Kurds either, especially since the same Russia or even Iran can seize the initiative.
Therefore, Trump is forced to maintain a US military presence in the countries of the Near and Middle East. But it’s clear that colossal funds are not required to fight against Middle Eastern or Afghan terrorists, and it’s impossible to talk about the terrorist threat in the United States without the attacks themselves. And Trump has no choice but to turn to the rhetoric of the Cold War with a socialist camp - to portray China and Russia as aggressive powers about to attack the United States.
Another reason for the increase in military revenues that Trump is trying to connect with the Russian-Chinese threat is the president’s space ambitions. Trump, an adventurous man, seeks to ensure US superiority in space. But this requires funds. And very considerable. Naturally, congressmen, especially from among the opposition Democrats, are wondering about the feasibility of spending a lot on the American space program. And here Trump must explain that the space program is not just a whim of the head of state, but a real need, due to considerations of not just economic benefits, but the preservation of the security of the American state.
Donald Trump paid great attention to the creation of the new Space Command (SPACECOM) of the US armed forces, which should be responsible for the operations of the American army in space. Trump considers the creation of space forces to be the main step towards securing US interests in outer space. According to Trump, otherwise hostile states may try to destroy American satellites, and this will inevitably affect the defense capabilities of the American state.
The creation of space forces requires money. A lot of money. And here, American experts and analysts come to the rescue of Trump, claiming that there is a military threat to American interests in space from China and Russia. Now both Russia and China are really rapidly developing their space programs. And the United States has great fears to further widen the existing gap.
But this gap is primarily due to the several times higher cost of American equipment. It’s not just that American spacecraft still use Russian rocket engines. American space innovations are much more expensive than Russian or Chinese, which is understandable in principle, given the cost of skilled labor, technology, materials in the United States of America.
The United States likes to talk about the constant information attacks that Russia, China and even Iran, North Korea and Cuba carry out against the American state. According to American propaganda, these countries have specially created entire structures for waging an information war, which is a component of the hybrid war strategy against American democracy.
The most common accusation is interference with American elections. Although it is not very clear here - if Russia intervened on purpose to ensure the victory of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, then it turns out that Trump is a Russian protege? But if he is a Russian protege, then his legitimacy is in question, but what about his decisions, decrees, including with regard to the fight against the Russian threat?
By the way, Trump rivals like to speculate about the "hybrid war". For example, Senator Amy Klobushar is considered one of the likely candidates for the post of head of the American state from the US Democratic Party. Recently, he proposed the creation of a Center for Response to Hostile Foreign Operations, which could ensure the security of the upcoming 2020 presidential election of the year. Democrats even submitted a bill to create such a center at a meeting of the House of Representatives of Congress.
According to the Democrats, China, Russia, Iran and the DPRK will try to disorient US citizens by spreading false messages and misleading them. Democrats do not talk about the reasons that these countries should push towards such behavior. And there is no need to tell them that. The main thing is to disrupt financing for such projects, although the Democrats themselves immediately accuse Trump of spending excessive funds to strengthen the American army or to build the Great American Wall border on the border with Mexico.
The creation of the next “center to combat Russian threats” is an excellent opportunity to receive additional funding from the US budget. Only business and nothing personal, as they say. And in order to reassure American taxpayers about spending millions, the tested myth is thrown into the information space about threats from some powerful but "evil" powers like Russia and China, or "crazy rogue countries" like the DPRK or Iran.
In addition, the American leadership needs the constant support of the "American myth", which also includes a course towards the creation of a unipolar world. The voter needs to explain why it is not worth sharing power over the world with China or Russia. And the best explanation is to make it clear that these countries still pose a threat to the United States, moreover, a military threat.
After all, if we talk about the economic competition between China and the United States, the question will be asked why the American state should not compete honestly, as it seems to be assumed by market capitalism idealized by Washington. If we talk about the political confrontation between Russia and the United States, then we will also have to answer uncomfortable questions, including why American Texas is good and Russian Crimea is bad.
Just the myth of the military threat is ideal in order to write off billions of dollars for weapons, re-equipping the army, creating permanent centers, supporting certain “allies” and “fighters for democracy” in different countries.
How Trump explains defense spending growth
Although Donald Trump won the presidential election, including due to the policy of saving budget funds and the withdrawal of American troops from other countries of the world, it was during his presidency that US spending on defense reached record levels. By the way, the owner of the White House himself, speaking to voters in North Carolina, said this, incidentally.
According to Trump himself, in the 2018 year, the United States funded the country's defense for 700 billion dollars, in 2019 year - for 716 billion dollars, and the president estimated the amount of military spending in the coming 2020 year at 738 billion dollars. At the same time, Donald Trump said that he simply had no choice but to increase military spending, since the United States is threatened by China, Russia and radical Islam. That is, the president identified three main potential adversaries, against whom it is worth arming and re-equipping the American army.
Of course, Donald Trump is very interested in presenting himself on the eve of the new presidential election as a true defender of US national interests, who took the country almost unarmed and left it with a well-armed and modern army. No wonder Trump did not forget to emphasize that by the time he came to power, the American armed forces were literally exhausted, but now they have received the latest aircraft, ships and missile systems.
Such statements should not be taken only as PR of Donald trump.
Until recently, the Americans really “relaxed” a bit, resting on the laurels of the strongest power in the world. But the rapid military-technical progress in Russia and China could not but alert the American leadership. The lobbyists of the US military-industrial complex, who were interested in the growth of military orders and, accordingly, in the receipt of new and increasing financial injections from the American budget, also perked up.
By the way, Trump’s personal views, which apply both to Russia and to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, are quite favorable, no longer matter of principle - the US president is dependent in his policy on the position of the American establishment, which is dominated by tough anti-Russian sentiments.
Both democrats and republicans are negative towards Russia and are building their programs taking into account the “Russian threat”, the very fact of which helps to consolidate supporters and seek to direct budget funds into the defense and military industries.
However, it is not the first time that the US defense budget has been criticized by the US Democratic Party. As you know, Democrats have the majority of seats in the lower House of Representatives of the US Congress and, accordingly, have the opportunity to reject the proposed draft budget. In particular, when the Trump administration requested the amount of the military budget for 2020 year in the amount of 750 billion dollars, the Democrats got into a mess and delivered 733 billion dollars.
For Democrats, the White House’s excessive military spending is another reason to hurt and stab President Trump. In turn, the latter has to prove that the United States should increase defense spending. And this despite the fact that he himself is an ardent supporter of the withdrawal of American troops from Syria and Afghanistan and the redirection of the funds that the United States spends today on troops overseas, on the development of American internal infrastructure.
However, influential circles of the American military-political elite object to the final withdrawal of troops. The Pentagon "feeds" due to hostilities in Afghanistan and Syria and therefore will stand to the last, disagreeing with the plan for the final withdrawal of troops. And even colossal expenses (only the war in Afghanistan cost the US budget at least five trillion dollars) military officials do not care.
But the Pentagon finds a lot of excuses for the presence of the military contingent in the same Syria, engaging in, among other things, outright moralization - supposedly, the withdrawal of American troops will put faithful allies - the Kurdish National Self-Defense Forces - in a very vulnerable position both before the Syrian government forces and before neighboring Turkey.
By the way, the USA also managed to quarrel with Turkey because of the war in Syria, since Washington’s support for the Kurds was very negatively received by Turkish President Recep Erdogan. Because of Syrian politics, the Americans found themselves in a very unpleasant situation, facing the risk of losing Turkey, a very important ally in a very significant direction. But it’s really not very good to throw Kurds either, especially since the same Russia or even Iran can seize the initiative.
Therefore, Trump is forced to maintain a US military presence in the countries of the Near and Middle East. But it’s clear that colossal funds are not required to fight against Middle Eastern or Afghan terrorists, and it’s impossible to talk about the terrorist threat in the United States without the attacks themselves. And Trump has no choice but to turn to the rhetoric of the Cold War with a socialist camp - to portray China and Russia as aggressive powers about to attack the United States.
Donald Trump Space Program
Another reason for the increase in military revenues that Trump is trying to connect with the Russian-Chinese threat is the president’s space ambitions. Trump, an adventurous man, seeks to ensure US superiority in space. But this requires funds. And very considerable. Naturally, congressmen, especially from among the opposition Democrats, are wondering about the feasibility of spending a lot on the American space program. And here Trump must explain that the space program is not just a whim of the head of state, but a real need, due to considerations of not just economic benefits, but the preservation of the security of the American state.
Donald Trump paid great attention to the creation of the new Space Command (SPACECOM) of the US armed forces, which should be responsible for the operations of the American army in space. Trump considers the creation of space forces to be the main step towards securing US interests in outer space. According to Trump, otherwise hostile states may try to destroy American satellites, and this will inevitably affect the defense capabilities of the American state.
The creation of space forces requires money. A lot of money. And here, American experts and analysts come to the rescue of Trump, claiming that there is a military threat to American interests in space from China and Russia. Now both Russia and China are really rapidly developing their space programs. And the United States has great fears to further widen the existing gap.
But this gap is primarily due to the several times higher cost of American equipment. It’s not just that American spacecraft still use Russian rocket engines. American space innovations are much more expensive than Russian or Chinese, which is understandable in principle, given the cost of skilled labor, technology, materials in the United States of America.
Russia, China and the “hybrid wars”
The United States likes to talk about the constant information attacks that Russia, China and even Iran, North Korea and Cuba carry out against the American state. According to American propaganda, these countries have specially created entire structures for waging an information war, which is a component of the hybrid war strategy against American democracy.
The most common accusation is interference with American elections. Although it is not very clear here - if Russia intervened on purpose to ensure the victory of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, then it turns out that Trump is a Russian protege? But if he is a Russian protege, then his legitimacy is in question, but what about his decisions, decrees, including with regard to the fight against the Russian threat?
By the way, Trump rivals like to speculate about the "hybrid war". For example, Senator Amy Klobushar is considered one of the likely candidates for the post of head of the American state from the US Democratic Party. Recently, he proposed the creation of a Center for Response to Hostile Foreign Operations, which could ensure the security of the upcoming 2020 presidential election of the year. Democrats even submitted a bill to create such a center at a meeting of the House of Representatives of Congress.
According to the Democrats, China, Russia, Iran and the DPRK will try to disorient US citizens by spreading false messages and misleading them. Democrats do not talk about the reasons that these countries should push towards such behavior. And there is no need to tell them that. The main thing is to disrupt financing for such projects, although the Democrats themselves immediately accuse Trump of spending excessive funds to strengthen the American army or to build the Great American Wall border on the border with Mexico.
The creation of the next “center to combat Russian threats” is an excellent opportunity to receive additional funding from the US budget. Only business and nothing personal, as they say. And in order to reassure American taxpayers about spending millions, the tested myth is thrown into the information space about threats from some powerful but "evil" powers like Russia and China, or "crazy rogue countries" like the DPRK or Iran.
In addition, the American leadership needs the constant support of the "American myth", which also includes a course towards the creation of a unipolar world. The voter needs to explain why it is not worth sharing power over the world with China or Russia. And the best explanation is to make it clear that these countries still pose a threat to the United States, moreover, a military threat.
After all, if we talk about the economic competition between China and the United States, the question will be asked why the American state should not compete honestly, as it seems to be assumed by market capitalism idealized by Washington. If we talk about the political confrontation between Russia and the United States, then we will also have to answer uncomfortable questions, including why American Texas is good and Russian Crimea is bad.
Just the myth of the military threat is ideal in order to write off billions of dollars for weapons, re-equipping the army, creating permanent centers, supporting certain “allies” and “fighters for democracy” in different countries.
Information