Rohnert Park, CA
October 9, 2017
by Rich Scheck
I usually stun my liberal friends into silence when I share with them the sad fact
that their hero, former President Barack Obama, signed off on a $1 Trillion increase
in spending to modernize nuclear weapons.
This smacks against their misguided image of Obama as deserving of the Nobel
Peace Prize even though he embraced most of the Neocon Agenda of his predecessor
and along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was a hawk in places like Libya,
Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and elsewhere.
Now comes Trump who won office by proclaiming the need to put “America First”
with plans to spend much more to upgrade the nation’s nuclear arsenal:
http://original.antiwar.com/john-laforge/2017/10/08/us-bomb-tests-bidding-wars-herald-new-unlawful-1-5-trillion-nuclear-weapons-complex/
Unlike Teddy Roosevelt who proclaimed the need to “speak softly and carry a big stick”
Trump is far more verbally aggressive as we just saw with his UN speech threatening
to destroy North Korea. He is bellicose towards virtually everyone who runs afoul of
his perceived sense of propriety leading some to question his sincerity and accuse him
of “a constant stream of bluster, bluff and unmitigated bullshit!”
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2017/10/08/trump-rhetoric-vs-reality/
Raimondo is a keen observer of the political scene and makes many astute observations
in the above article. Even though I agree with his basic point about Trump playing “base”
ball with his core supporters with these pronouncements, the point is that perpetuating
an economy based on war as your business model is a losing proposition.
This is especially so with China and Russia collaborating with the other BRICS nations on the Grand Chessboard to create a viable alternative to the failing Bretton Woods/IMF petro-dollar world of post-WWII. The challenge to the dollar as the reserve currency and Pax Americana as the basis of our foreign policy has increased, especially after Russia’s intervention in Syria to prevent Assad’s defeat. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/47962.htm
And with many traditional US allies suddenly getting close to Moscow, the wisdom of spending on enhanced arsenals as distinct from new businesses to compete in global markets has to be questioned. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/47966.htm
Building new nukes will not revitalize the US economy nor will it inhibit China, Russia, Iran, North Korea or anyone else. Besides violating the letter and spirit of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it represents another example of America’s failure to adopt sane
policies to benefit We The People and promote a world that has a semblance of achieving
peace. This issue is not unique to Trump but his special form of over-sensitive hype and
“twittering” remarks add to the angst of an already anxious planet.
Senator Fulbright did his best to warn us during the Viet Nam era that “the price of Empire is America’s soul, and that price is too high!” But neither Trump, his advisers or the public have learned that sad lesson. Those that believe we are on the verge of societal collapse are likely to agree that spending $1.5 Trillion to modernize these weapons is another step towards the End of Empire and the abyss: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/47972.htm