by B. R. GOWANI
Biden’s constant mantra:
“America is back.” “America is back.” “America is back.” …
i.e., the globe’s rogue power is back to control rest of the world
although the US had never left the world stage
Trump’s rhetoric was critical of Europe and NATO
he wanted Europe to pay more for NATO expenses
but it’s the US that wants NATO, so Europe stays within its orbit
for the defense budget, Biden has asked for $753 billion, a 1.7% raise
whereas China spends $250 billion on its defence: 1/3rd of the US budget
Republican Senator James Inhofe (Oklahoma) wants 3-5% increase
he’s the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee
personal gain was present, too – buying stocks of the arms manufacturers
US Army Gen. James Dickinson says:
“Our pacing threat is the Chinese, so we are watching how they are growing their space capability.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says:
I know Japan shares our concerns with China’s destabilizing actions. And as I have said before, China is a pacing challenge for the Department of Defense.
“We still maintain the edge.” “And we’re going to increase the edge going forward.”
CNN’s Fareed Zakaria is a hawk who roots for US hegemony
so it was surprising to see him criticize the “bloated” Pentagon budget
What [Defense Secretary Lloyd] Austin calls America’s “edge” over China is more like a chasm. The United States has about 20 times the number of nuclear warheads as China. It has twice the tonnage of warships at sea, including 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers compared with China’s two carriers (which are much less advanced). Washington has more than 2,000 modern fighter jets compared with Beijing’s roughly 600, according to national security analyst Sebastien Roblin. And the United States deploys this power using a vast network of some 800 overseas bases. China has three. China spends around $250 billion on its military, a third as much as the United States. Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution notes that, “if China were in NATO, we would berate it for inadequate burden-sharing, since its military outlays fall well below NATO’s 2 percent minimum.”
the US is way ahead in its destructive capacity than China
the progressives wanted a 10% cut in US defense spending
like other progressive issues, Biden ignored this one too
prior to the Putin/Biden summit, Biden was critical of Putin
but now he has toned down his bravado
Biden, in Trumpian fashion, can’t stand to see China get ahead
“China has an overall goal … to become the leading country in the world, the wealthiest country in the world, and the most powerful country in the world.” “That’s not going to happen on my watch because the United States is going to continue to grow.”
Dean Baker notes that China’s economy is 20% larger than US economy
it will be 80% greater by the end of this decade, he adds further
Dilip Hiro convincingly shows how far ahead China is of the US
at the G7 meeting, Biden tried hard to portray China in bad light
but he failed to persuade Europe to go against China
Italy, Germany, and France didn’t buy Biden’s crap
French President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement:
“I will be very clear: The G7 is not a club hostile to China.”
China’s huge economy is great for Europe’s businesses
so is Biden going to start a war with China?
nothing can be ruled out where the US ego is involved
but then China has ICBMs with a range of over 13,000 kilometers
the distance between Beijing and Washington, DC is 11,000 km
the outcome could be nothing but MAD (Mutually assured destruction)
so then why waste so much money on war spending?
it benefits politicians, generals, and especially the war industry:
the merchants of death who are only concerned with their profit
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com